The Eye of the Beholder QCon San Francisco 2011 Alex Papadimoulis - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The Eye of the Beholder QCon San Francisco 2011 Alex Papadimoulis - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Feb 08, 2023 377 likes •1.06k views

Beauty is in The Eye of the Beholder QCon San Francisco 2011 Alex Papadimoulis @apapadimoulis Software Disaster Stories Interviews Gone Bad Bad Code Funny Error Messages And sometimes serious content! The day job

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Beauty is in The Eye of the Beholder

QCon San Francisco 2011 Alex Papadimoulis @apapadimoulis

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  • Software Disaster Stories
  • Interviews Gone Bad
  • Bad Code
  • Funny Error Messages
  • And sometimes… serious content!
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  • The day job
  • BuildMaster

–release management & automation –continuous delivery platform

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My 3 Bullet Point Résumé

  • Been in software for a while
  • Worked on a bunch of different systems
  • Worked at a bunch of different places
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IS S IT HO HOT OR OR NO NOT?

Let’s play a game!

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%DTC %DTC ; SF/XAK - DATE/TIME OPERATIONS ;1/16/92 11:36 AM ;;19.0;VA FileMan;;Jul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SURVEY SAYS…

That’s right, I knew the results ahead of time.

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  • Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
  • Ugly Code is… just plain ugly
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DEFINING “UGLY” CODE

Can you really quantify aesthetics?

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In Our World…

  • Code is not art
  • We are not craftsman
  • Our work supports or drives business
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Code Quality

  • Good vs. Bad

 “Who cares?”

  • Works vs. Broken  “Bugs are bad!”
  • Beautify vs. Ugly

 ?????

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A Matter of Maintenance

  • Ugly code is difficult to understand
  • More points of failure
  • Costlier and Riskier to Maintain
  • Extra: no one likes maintaining ugly code
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A TAXONOMY ONOMY OF OF UG UGLY

It’s more than just Ugly and Fugly

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Dilapidated & Decrepit

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Dilapidated & Decrepit

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Complex & Convoluted

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Complex & Convoluted

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Complete Clusterfrack

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Complete Clusterfrack

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Maddening Mishmash

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Maddening Mishmash

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Disastrously Disheveled

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Disastrously Disheveled

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NO NOT-SO O BEAUTIFUL IFUL COD ODE

But not quite ugly, either. Homely?

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Old & Over-the-hill

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Old & Over-the-hill

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Freakishly Foreign

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Freakishly Foreign

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Five Kinds of Ugly

  • Dilapidated & Decrepit
  • Complex & Convoluted
  • Complete Clusterfrack
  • Maddening Mishmash
  • Disastrously Disheveled
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THE HE OR ORIGIN IN OF OF UG UGLY COD ODE

It was pretty much born that way.

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Clueless Coders

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Cowboy Coders

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Clever Coders

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“Programmers… often take refuge in an understandable, but disastrous, inclination towards complexity and ingenuity in their

  • work. Forbidden to design anything larger

than a program, they respond by making that program intricate enough to challenge their professional skill.”

  • - Michael A. Jackson, 1975
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Problem:

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New Problem:

use this to build a tool that can pound-in nails

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Ad Infinitum:

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Final Solution:

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Cleverness is Unavoidable

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Clever:

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Clever:

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Clever:

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Oh Dear God!

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“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity cleverness”

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Where Ugly Doesn’t Come From

  • Development Process
  • Lack of Testing
  • Tools
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PREVEN ENTING TING UGLY COD ODING ING

You too can prevent ugly code.

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Clueing-in the Clueless

  • Clueless by their nature
  • Training and education can help
  • If all else fails… isolation!
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Corral the Cowboys

  • Process
  • Process
  • Process
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Cease the Cleverness

  • Step Back, Re-evaluate
  • Think “Gloves”
  • Get a second or third opinion
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CULLING LING THE HE UGLY COD ODE

“Just take a little off the top”

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Evaluate Organizational Support

  • How much will it take to fix?
  • Why fix what isn’t broken?
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Selling Change

  • It's All About the Benjamins, Baby
  • Value proposition:

–Lower costs –Reduce risk of change –Increase opportunity

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Going Rogue

  • Easier to ask for forgiveness
  • No one will really notice
  • Proper terminology: “upgrade” not “rewrite”
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Stop Writing Ugly Code

  • Clue-in the Clueless
  • Corral the Cowboys
  • Cease the Cleverness
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Create a Demarcation Line

  • Not all ugly code should go
  • Logical boundaries can isolate the ugly
  • Criteria: rate and risk of change
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Abstract the “Legacy”

  • Formalizes Boundaries
  • Makes coding Easier
  • Loose Coupling is a Good Thing™
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Rewrite & Refactor

  • Unit Tests
  • “Feature Toggle” When Possible
  • Small, isolated changes
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Stay Committed

  • Rewriting is boring and tedious
  • Should have ZERO noticeable impact
  • Giving up will make things worse
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Step-by-Step

  • Evaluate Organizational Support
  • Sell Change or Go Rogue
  • Stop Writing Ugly Code
  • Abstract the “Legacy”
  • Rewrite & Refactor
  • Stay Committed
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Much, Much Worse