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1500 questions
150
votes
8 answers

Are bad programming practices typical within the software industry?

I just started my first job as a software developer over a month ago. Everything I have learned about OOP, SOLID, DRY, YAGNI, design patterns, SRP, etc. can be thrown out the window. They use C# .NET Webforms and do almost everything within the Code…
Grim
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150
votes
16 answers

What do you do when code review is just too hard?

OK so a lot of code review is fairly routine. But occasionally there are changes that broadly impact existing complex, fragile code. In this situation, the amount of time it would take to verify the safety of the changes, absence of regression, etc.…
Bradley Thomas
  • 5,120
150
votes
31 answers

Is it unusual for a small company (15 developers) not to use managed source/version control?

It's not really a technical question, but there are several other questions here about source control and best practice. The company I work for (which will remain anonymous) uses a network share to host its source code and released code. It's the…
m-smith
  • 454
149
votes
15 answers

Why did memory-managed languages like Java, Javascript, and C# retain the `new` keyword?

The new keyword in languages like Java, Javascript, and C# creates a new instance of a class. This syntax seems to have been inherited from C++, where new is used specifically to allocate a new instance of a class on the heap, and return a pointer…
Channel72
  • 2,505
149
votes
7 answers

Relationship between C#, .NET, ASP, ASP.NET etc

I'm really unclear on the difference between C#, C#.NET and the same for ASP and other '.NET' languages. From what I understand, .NET is a library/framework of... things. I think they're essentially access to Windows data such as form elements etc,…
Megan Walker
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149
votes
13 answers

Should I refactor the code that is marked as "don't change"?

I am dealing with a pretty big codebase and I was given a few months to refactor existing code. The refactor process is needed because soon we will need to add many new features to our product and as for now we are no longer able to add any feature…
kukis
  • 1,362
149
votes
17 answers

Coding standard for clarity: comment every line of code?

I've worked in shops that produce life critical software and I've dealt with commenting rules that were meant to keep the code readable and potentially save lives. In my experience though the requirement becomes a brain dead chore to be ticked off…
candied_orange
  • 119,268
149
votes
14 answers

Why does Uncle Bob suggest that coding standards shouldn't be written down if you can avoid it?

While I was reading this question, the top voted answer quoted Uncle Bob on coding standards, but I was confused by this tip: Don't write them down if you can avoid it. Rather, let the code be the way the standards are captured. This bounced in…
Nolan Akash
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148
votes
9 answers

Maintain hundreds of customized branches over master branch

Currently we have one master branch for our PHP application in a shared repository. We have more than 500 clients who are subscribers of our software, most of whom have some customization for different purposes, each in a separate branch. The…
Fernando Tan
  • 1,527
148
votes
6 answers

How do you achieve a numeric versioning scheme with Git?

My organization is considering moving from SVN to Git. One argument against moving is as follows: How do we do versioning? We have an SDK distribution based on the NetBeans Platform. As the SVN revisions are simple numbers we can use them to extend…
Erlend
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147
votes
3 answers

Can I use an LGPL-licenced library in my commercial app?

I want to use an LGPL-licensed library in my app for Microsoft's app marketplace. Is that OK?
William Jockusch
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147
votes
6 answers

Are private methods with a single reference bad style?

Generally I use private methods to encapsulate functionality that is reused in multiple places in the class. But sometimes I have a large public method that could be broken up into smaller steps, each in its own private method. This would make the…
Jordak
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147
votes
24 answers

What are the drawbacks of Python?

Python seems all the rage these days, and not undeservingly - for it is truly a language with which one almost enjoys being given a new problem to solve. But, as a wise man once said (calling him a wise man only because I've no idea as to who…
Rook
  • 19,947
146
votes
3 answers

What are the real life implications for an Apache 2 license?

I want to use SVG Edit for a project. This software is distributed under the Apache 2 license. I've seen that: all copies, modified or unmodified, are accompanied by a copy of the licence all modifications are clearly marked as being the work of…
methodofaction
  • 2,163
146
votes
10 answers

When is it a good idea to force garbage collection?

So I was reading a question about forcing the C# garbage collector to run where almost every single answer is the same: you can do it, but you shouldn't - except for some very rare cases. Sadly, nobody there elaborates on what are such cases. Can…
Saturn
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