A bit more

Post #265,354 by broomberg 8/18/06 9:16:25 PM Reply	A bit more Weasel director on the side has managed to get the right to design and choose language and environment. Ya know, for the good of the overal corporate direction, standard, etc, screw the current project. He would like to see the project fail if I am doing it, so he can sweep in and save the day. If I quit, they can also blame me. But: They won't fire me, as long as I follow the guidelines they setup, because then it will be obvious they are trying to kill it since my reputation as someone who can accomplish almost anything is well known. So something I can do in a few weeks of Perl will drag into a 6 months failure doing it in C++, because that is their chosen language. Chosen by someone who doesn't check to see if a "new" call returned a null in his production code. Chosen by someone who doesn't know to use an editor, ANY editor, in the production environment. Chosen by someone who get confused by regular expressions, so he chose to implement a horrible pattern matching language of his own. I might put up the good fight simply becuase I don't want to screw the people in the business unit who will be depending on this, but I don't know how long I can last.
Post #265,356 by boxley 8/18/06 9:48:57 PM Reply	question language chosen by twit, but is he/she writing it? If not, manage the code, it will be documented, parsed, pressed styled seconded guessed and tested. otherwise smile and if you have time do the perl version anyway, get it ready then say.... hmmm I have something that is ready NOW. There will be an appropriate meeting to bring that up in after deadlines start to slip badly. ambush my friend, in the guise of saving the day. thanx, bill Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
Post #265,359 by broomberg 8/18/06 9:56:23 PM Reply	Am already trying to go that route They are trying to make ME write it in their langauge of choice. Any time spent doing it right, in perl, will be deemed wasting time. So of course, I'm trying to push back and have him write it, since he's the natural choice. But again, these are all technical tacts. And they will fail, even if they succeed. This is not a technical issue, it is a political one. The only way it can be fixed is if a couple of levels up are brought into the picture, and at that moment it is still a very long shot.
Post #265,363 by boxley 8/18/06 10:25:05 PM Reply	once when I was with hughes when raytheon bought them I was handed a box and said order the c compiler for this radio modem and build me a program to these specs I am not a c programmer, at best I am an excellent debugger well we have funding for that project and you are available. It is a waste of company and government money to have me attempt to write this FAA contact: thats standard practice around here me: This is a good project for a C programmer. ended up finding another project of which I was eminently more qualified to do Understand where you are, harder for you to find a way out. thanx, bill Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
Post #265,366 by broomberg 8/18/06 10:32:01 PM Reply	Little different I'm a MUCH better C programmer than this guy is. They treat C++ as if it was C with some class libraries. Having read some of his code, I know what little I do know and the programming practicies I adhere to make me much better at it. It still stucks. It'll be 6 months of my life wasted. They may pay me well, but they do it becuase I'm productive. Not because I kiss ass and coast.
Post #265,371 by boxley 8/18/06 11:08:10 PM Reply	90% of most c++ programmers treat c++ as if it was C with some class libraries at least from most of the code I have reveiwed. Tablizer with polyfuckism. thanx, bill Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
Post #265,512 by drewk 8/21/06 9:49:02 AM 8/22/06 1:03:49 AM Reply	Know that feeling (with stupid spello removed) Having read some of his code, I know what little I do know and the programming practicies I adhere to make me much better at it. It's frustrating as hell knowing that you're not really good at something, but still better than the guy who's supposed to be responsible for it. === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com] Edited by drewk Aug. 22, 2006, 01:03:49 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #265,603 by static 8/21/06 11:13:39 PM Reply	I've been there, too. And it can be worse: when not only do you know more than the guy who's supposed to be supporting it, but you don't like whatever-it-is, either! Wade. "Insert crowbar. Apply force."
Post #265,360 by Another Scott 8/18/06 10:07:02 PM Reply	Are your higher-up allies still around? You know better than anyone here the importance of office politics. While there's little doubt that you'll win technical arguments with this fellow, you need allies that can carry weight with him. You're in a no-win situation as it stands right now, the way you've described it. You need allies or ammunition to change the dynamics. As it stands, if you win then you undercut the new fellow. If he wins, the company is damaged. Some creative management is needed. Would they agree to parallel development (reduce risk, etc.)? Would they agree to a new head-to-head competion on the development models? Why was the new fellow hired again? How can you succeeding help him look like a genius? Shop your resume around, just in case... :-( Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #265,361 by broomberg 8/18/06 10:10:21 PM Reply	Nope. All allies are gone. The new guys got rid of them. This is a lost political battle. The new guy already looks like a genius. The only thing I can make him look is bad. And that is a no win for me.
Post #265,373 by Silverlock 8/18/06 11:22:41 PM Reply	Sounds like it's time to leave. Stop dickin' around. Get out. ----------------------------------------- Impeach Bush. Impeach Cheney. Do it now.
Post #265,383 by broomberg 8/19/06 12:05:33 AM Reply	Hey, good plans take time I said I had a soft landing, but it'll be a while. Until then, I gotta suck it up.
Post #265,386 by boxley 8/19/06 12:08:39 AM Reply	hmm, I know a POS that needs replacing :-) Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
Post #265,387 by broomberg 8/19/06 12:11:28 AM Reply	Thanks, but no My future is local (I think)
Post #265,384 by broomberg 8/19/06 12:05:42 AM Reply	Hey, good plans take time I said I had a soft landing, but it'll be a while. Until then, I gotta suck it up.
Post #265,423 by tuberculosis 8/19/06 6:57:21 PM Reply	Neither one of you is qualified to work in C++ (new thread) Created as new thread #265422 titled [link\|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=265422\|Neither one of you is qualified to work in C++] [link\|http://www.blackbagops.net\|Black Bag Operations Log] [link\|http://www.objectiveclips.com\|Artificial Intelligence] [link\|http://www.badpage.info/seaside/html\|Scrutinizer]
Post #265,549 by jb4 8/21/06 2:13:41 PM Reply	One each minor nit: C++ `operator new()` does not return NULL. It thorws an exception, with is more often than not uncaught, resulting in the application exiting more or less gtracefully. Unless, of course, you know enough to use the `nothrow` parameter (which the vast majority of C++ types don't even know exist.) You might just wanna keep that in your back pocket, should the time arise... ;-) jb4 "So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't." — Stephen Colbert, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner 29Apr06
Post #265,556 by broomberg 8/21/06 4:22:13 PM Reply	Yes, Todd pointed that out as he pointed out neither of us were qualified to code in c++. I agreed with him.
Post #265,564 by jb4 8/21/06 5:15:49 PM Reply	Saw that...after I posted. Sorry... :-\\ jb4 "So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't." — Stephen Colbert, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner 29Apr06

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