The *ART* of Computer Programming

[Dan Mercer]

In article <7858 at tank.uchicago.edu> matt at group-w.uchicago.edu (Matt Crawford) writes:
:) >Have you never heard of a one-time program? 
:) 
:) I have heard of them, certainly.  I have just never seen one.
:
:I saw one, one time.  So I'm sure I'll never see another ...

Gee,  I probably write 10-20 a month.  Most don't do much of anything
and are purely of an educational nature (after 10 years in this business,
I have learned a 'Show Me' attitude towards documentation.  I've
found more than my share of discrepancies between the way something
works and the way the doco says it works).  I also write a lot of
one shot awk programs.  Since those programs are written inside of
vi then !awk  'ed,  they don't even survive the editing session.

However,  that's only a quibble.  Years ago I hacked up a couple of
one shots that were only gonna last as long as a quick demo to my boss.
Inelegantly coded,  uncommented and undocumented.  And still in use.
With new additions hammered on at intervals.  Impossible to support,
impossible for even me to understand any more.  Worse,  I've had 
requests for them,  but I'm too ashamed to hand them out (people
would think me MAD!!!HA!HA!HA!).  Not that they'd even be portable.

So my rule of thumb is,  if you don't intend to erase the file as soon
as you're done,  do it up right the first time.

Course,  I break the rule all the time.

-- 

Dan Mercer
Reply-To: mercer at ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Dan Mercer)