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Topic: The Joel Test (Read 518 times) |
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BNC
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The Joel Test
« on: Feb 13th, 2006, 1:11pm » |
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Was this site posted before?
If not, what do you think?
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How about supercalifragilisticexpialidociouspuzzler [Towr, 2007]
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Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #1 on: Feb 13th, 2006, 5:14pm » |
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Not being a programmer, I can't really say much about it, but this does stand out:
Quote:| The truth is that most software organizations are running with a score of 2 or 3, and they need serious help, because companies like Microsoft run at 12 full-time. |
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Considering the quality of Microsoft product, I would say the test is far worse than he indicates. Then again, since one of the tests is:
Quote:| 5. Do you fix bugs before writing new code? |
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Microsoft surely can't score better than 11.
(No, I am not an anti-MS nut. But I did buy Microsoft Millenium Edition once, and I may never forgive them for it!)
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"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
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BNC
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #2 on: Feb 13th, 2006, 9:27pm » |
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I think the idea is that they fix knownbugs before writing new code -- whuch doesn't mean they don't release the sofware with known bugs...
(And, yes, I'm not much of a M$ fan either)
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How about supercalifragilisticexpialidociouspuzzler [Towr, 2007]
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #3 on: Feb 14th, 2006, 12:48am » |
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I think amichail posted a few links to Joel's pages a while ago.
The article about the hungarian notation is also interesting (basicly it means that in naming a variable you include some relevant information as to how it is to be used.)
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| « Last Edit: Feb 14th, 2006, 12:48am by towr » |
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Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
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Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #4 on: Feb 14th, 2006, 3:37pm » |
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That is interesting. When I saw recommendations that all variable names be prefaced with their type, I also rebelled. But he has done an excellent job of explaining what the real intent was, and the real notation makes a lot of sense.
(And I should think that fixing known bugs before subjecting your customers to them would be even wiser than doing it before writing new code, but apparently M$ execs don't agree.)
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"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
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Grimbal
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #5 on: Feb 16th, 2006, 8:40am » |
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But the classification of strings as "unsafe" and "safe" is not the right thinking. He should rather distinguish between strings and HTML fragments. A string is a sequence of symbols to be displayed as such. An HTML fragment is something that includes HTML tags and escapes and is suitable for inclusion in an HTML page.
In this way, one could write:
sUser = (whatever the user entered)
htmlUser = htmlEncode(sUser)
htmlGreeting = "Hello, <b>" + htmlUser + "</b>";
write(htmlGreeting + "<br>");
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Grimbal
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #6 on: Feb 16th, 2006, 8:53am » |
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on Feb 14th, 2006, 3:37pm, Icarus wrote:| (And I should think that fixing known bugs before subjecting your customers to them would be even wiser than doing it before writing new code, but apparently M$ execs don't agree.) |
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M$ isn't known to produce great software. It's known to make money out of it. They know perfectly well that with an unstable program people will "do something about it" and purchase the next, hopefully more stable, version of the program.
Should they fix the bugs (for free) and discourage people from upgrading or should they put the effort in the next version that they can sell?
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Icarus
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #7 on: Feb 16th, 2006, 3:26pm » |
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A short-sighted business practice, at best. You can't suppress the competition forever, and the bugs give your company a bad image. Eventually, it will return to bite you.
American automotive companies ruled the U.S. market in the 1950s and 1960s. They used their power to suppress competition and ignored quality issues. Eventually, the clear superiority of foreign models was so apparent that people began buying them despite all the protections and appeals to patriotism. The result is that every major U.S. auto manufacturer of the time is either gone, or has undergone major financial set-backs. They are still playing catch-up when it comes to quality issues, and suffering from the bad image they allowed to develop.
It may take awhile, but in the future M$ execs will rue the policies of M$ now.
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"Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed? " - Anonymous
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Grimbal
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: The Joel Test
« Reply #8 on: Feb 17th, 2006, 5:12am » |
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BTW I found something missing in The Joel Test: automated tests and non-regression testing.
All too often, when adding a feature or fixing a bug, it breaks something else or reveals a bug that was hidden before. You need to run a comprehensive test suite on every daily build.
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