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Questions tagged [source-code]

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Source code is any collection of computer instructions (possibly with comments) written using some human-readable computer language, usually as text.

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What tools and techniques do you use for exploring and learning an unknown code base? I am thinking of tools like grep, ctags, unit-tests, functional test, class-diagram generators, call graphs, ...
Community wiki
6 revs, 5 users 64%
miku
28 votes
5 answers
6k views

This is something I've been thinking about ever since I read this answer in the controversial programming opinions thread: Your job is to put yourself out of work. When you're writing software ...
Bobby Tables's user avatar
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227 votes
11 answers
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I am junior developer among seniors and am struggling a lot with understanding their thinking, reasoning. I am reading Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and can't understand why we need to create so many ...
user1318496's user avatar
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22 votes
11 answers
14k views

I have made a couple iPhone applications for a customer and was asked today to hand over the source code so that they could do the maintenance if this should be required. Until now, no code issues ...
egil's user avatar
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22 votes
7 answers
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One of the devs on my team believes that it is necessary to write a javadoc comment for EVERY parameter in a method's signature. I do not think this is necessary, and in fact I think it can even be ...
sangfroid's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
5k views

I've seen some projects that - with each new year - start to change all files in their source-tree to update the copyright year. Isn't this just pushing hot air on a level of magnitude? AFAIK: ...
hakre's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
638 views

I know most people hate flat and long functions, and hate when code is not full of ISomethings. The problem is that I guess my mind works in different way, and I always have problems with that type ...
Coder's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
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Do most application developers use signed integers in places where they really mean to use unsigned integers? I do it all the time, so do my co-workers. I haven't seen a lot of other extensive ...
Peter Turner's user avatar
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89 votes
4 answers
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It is always difficult for me to choose between singular and plural forms for classes names: CustomerRepository vs. CustomersRepository CustomerService vs. CustomersService CustomerController vs. ...
SiberianGuy's user avatar
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67 votes
14 answers
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Possible Duplicate: How to manage a Closed Source High-Risk Project? I'm working on an institution that has a really strong sense of "possession" - each line of software we write should be only ...
AeroCross's user avatar
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50 votes
14 answers
16k views

Possible Duplicate: How do you keep track of the authors of code? One of my colleagues is in the habit of putting his name and email address in the head of each source file he works on, as author ...
regularfry's user avatar
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40 votes
10 answers
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Possible Duplicate: What is the most effective way to add functionality to unfamiliar, structurally unsound code? Till now, all I have worked on is with Java projects that I build from scratch (...
Ankit's user avatar
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37 votes
5 answers
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I've seen multiple posts about rewrites of applications being bad, people's experiences about it here on Programmers, and an article I've ready by Joel Spolsky on the subject, but no hard evidence or ...
user avatar
26 votes
12 answers
5k views

Reading SQLite source code is IMO mission impossible. Yet it is a usable piece of quite complex software (it's a full-blown embedded database after all) that can be downloaded, compiled and used from ...
sharptooth's user avatar
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25 votes
16 answers
5k views

What do you do to understand some code that you didn't write? Or code that you wrote long time ago and don't remember what it does anymore. Do you have some technique that you go about? Do you ...
gablin's user avatar
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12 votes
5 answers
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I am a software engineer for 4 years, and I just changed my company for the first time. Company works with pair programming, and it's been 3 days, I couldn't even write a single line of code. It's so ...
Robert Johnson's user avatar
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12 votes
11 answers
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For version control comments what do other users do/recommend - past or present tense? I.e. Changed x to be y. or Changing x to be y.
Robert W's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
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There have been questions similar to this, but my question is HOW exactly do you showcase your code when going to an interview? Do you show screenshots, or do you bring the actual code? Do you take ...
user1802256's user avatar
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149 votes
13 answers
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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 ...
kukis's user avatar
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91 votes
17 answers
7k views

So your client asks you to write some code, so you do. He then changes the specs on you, as expected, and you diligently implement his new features like a good little lad. Except... the new features ...
Community wiki
2 revs
Mark
64 votes
10 answers
23k views

We've all done it, we've labelled some code (often stuff we've inherited) as "legacy"? But it's still used in the production systems - so is it really legacy? And what makes it legacy? ...
Community wiki
8 revs, 4 users 68%
Nim
33 votes
14 answers
17k views

How do people deal with profanity in source code and VCS comments. Keep or delete? What about soft-expletives like WTF or Arrgggh? Is unprofessional, offensive or something to be shrugged off?
sal's user avatar
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24 votes
7 answers
7k views

Almost every advanced programmer says that it's very useful to read the code of other professionals. Usually they advice open source. Do you read it or not? If you do, how often and what's the ...
Sergey's user avatar
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24 votes
3 answers
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In a response to another question, a poster suggested that under the GPL: ...you need to provide the human readable [code], not a whitespace stripped version... Readability would seem to me to be ...
Armand's user avatar
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22 votes
10 answers
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I've often seen such comments be used: function foo() { ... } // foo while (...) { ... } // while if (...) { ... } // if and sometimes even as far as if (condition) { ... } // if (...
gablin's user avatar
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22 votes
5 answers
2k views

It has been less than a year since I joined my current company. Their majority of sales have come from a single product that has been alive since the last 10 years. However, there is minimal (if at ...
arin's user avatar
  • 430
14 votes
7 answers
2k views

While I've never delivered anything using Smalltalk, my brief time playing with it has definitely left its mark. The only way to describe the experience is MVC the way it was meant to be. ...
Berin Loritsch's user avatar
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11 votes
9 answers
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First, I read an excerpt Edsger W. Dijkstra's 1974 paper "On the role of scientific thought": Let me try to explain to you, what to my taste is characteristic for all intelligent thinking. It is, ...
Dennis's user avatar
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11 votes
7 answers
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Possible Duplicate: Hand over source code to customer I have developed a couple of form based windows application in vb.net for a client and they all work well and he paid me through a freelance site. ...
Tec's user avatar
  • 111
10 votes
4 answers
9k views

I'm working on a calendar project, on my own. In this project I've to use Swiss Ephemeris. It is licensed under GPLv2 and commercial. With commercial version of license, developers entitled to ...
Arnab Das's user avatar
  • 203
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

I'm about to undertake a project. This requires me to write code, and tons of it. The client's requirement is to hand in all source code at the end of the project. My question is: How do I quantify ...
Buhake Sindi's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
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I'm really confused.. I'm looking into making a commercial program and there are a few open source, GPL covered components i'd like to use.. Am I allowed to sell my product with the components in ...
Daniel Upton's user avatar
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5 votes
5 answers
3k views

Possible Duplicate: How much documentation is enough? Do you know how the big IT company like IBM, Microsoft, or google make sure their application source code has proper documentation for future ...
null's user avatar
  • 155
3 votes
3 answers
828 views

In a generic sense, my question goes something like this: if (p) { if (q) { a(); } else { b(); } } else { if (q) { c(); } else { d(); } } There ...
Kyle Delaney's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
330 views

Software libraries targetting resource constrained environments like embedded systems use conditional compilation to allow consumers to shave space and thus increase performance by removing unused ...
TZubiri's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
377 views

I notice that a property of codebases that I like hacking on is that it's quick to find the relevant code for some feature, without knowing much about the code base at all. For example, searching for ...
Steve Bennett's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
524 views

I'm looking for considerations of the questions "Can code be beautiful?" and "What makes code beautiful?" Examples would include: This academic paper: Obfuscation, Weird Languages, and Code ...
dilettante.coder's user avatar
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