Re: Opinions please : You can't (shouldn't) fix Stupid, remove the Stupid first and then see if you still have a problem.

Hi John / All,

The best thing about code that doesn't exist is that it's guaranteed
100% bug-free. :)

To my own opinion, I tend to be a little more cautious even when I'm
sure I'm sure. I stick to one thing at a time, make a note of problems I
see whilst fixing the current and get back to them later. My real
concern, especially against a large code base, is missing a connection
and actually making my life harder with multiple bugs on the go (read,
burnt very subtly but very badly before).

Johnathan


On Wed, 2010-10-27 at 21:02 -0500, Paul Comeau wrote:
>   
> Lol - sounds like the last project I was on. I agree "don't fix
> Stupid, remove Stupid"!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pc
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> On Oct 27, 2010, at 19:42, John Carter <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> >   
> > So I was assigned a critical issue to fix... Something was failing
> > to meet it's real time deadline.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > So I, obeying the principle of "Measure First, then guess", I
> > plugged in a bit of profiling code (hey this is in a very very
> > tightly resource constrained embedded device)... an lo and behold
> > the most major consumer of CPU and resources was a facility that
> > doesn't (cannot possibly) exist within this particular model.
> > 
> > Ie. The presence of this facility is just plain stupid.
> > 
> > Is it the cause of the issue?
> > 
> > Dunno, don't care. My working principle is don't fix Stupid, remove
> > Stupid and then see if you still have a problem... If you still have
> > a problem fix that without all the Stupid clouding the picture.
> > 
> > Now I'm aware that this deviates from more cautious types who would
> > say, prove first that the Stupid is causing a problem before you
> > attack it.
> > 
> > My practice has always been, can't stand stupid, makes things
> > complicated, muddies the picture, if I see stupid The Big Cutting
> > Tools come out and Stupid goes and swims with the fishies.
> > 
> > Then I go back to being cautious.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > John Carter                             Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639
> > Tait Electronics                        Fax   : (64)(3) 359 4632
> > PO Box 1645 Christchurch                Email :
> > [email protected]
> > New Zealand
> > 
> > 
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>