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1500 questions
55
votes
6 answers
Open source code with no license... can I fork it?
Years ago somebody created a bunch of really awesome and popular scripts. But they were not updated for a long, now they no-longer work (target platform were updated, and some changes are needed).
He hasn't released it under any license. I want to…
Abhi Beckert
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55
votes
15 answers
Date as software version number
Software developers don't typically use date as version number, though YYYYMMDD format (or its variances) looks solid enough to use. Is there anything wrong with that scheme? Or does it apply to limited 'types' of software only (like in-house…
Donotalo
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55
votes
14 answers
What is the best way to evaluate new programmers?
What is the best way to evaluate the best candidates to get a new job (talking merely in terms of programming skills)? In my company we have had a lot of bad experiences with people who have good grades but do not have real programming skills. …
Rafael
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55
votes
13 answers
Be liberal in what you accept... or not?
[Disclaimer: this question is subjective, but I would prefer getting answers backed by facts and/or reflexions]
I think everyone knows about the Robustness Principle, usually summed up by Postel's Law:
Be conservative in what you send; be liberal…
Matthieu M.
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55
votes
17 answers
Is a code review subjective or objective (quantifiable)?
I am putting together some guidelines for code reviews. We do not have one formal process yet and are trying to formalize it. And our team is geographically distributed.
We are using TFS for source control (we used it for tasks/bug tracking/project…
ram
55
votes
4 answers
What should I do to be language-agnostic?
By now I work with asp.net and C#. I have done a decent work in Java as well. I am planning my career in such a way I should be language-agnostic someday. What are the things that I need to learn?
First would OOP paradigms as its speaks about the…
Gopi
- 3,113
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55
votes
9 answers
Why the scorn for COBOL?
When people mention COBOL, it's usually either met with a snort or groan. I don't know much about COBOL, but I've seen some programs written in it. I can see that it's wordy, and to uninitiated eyes such as mine, unintelligible. But, really, aren't…
Barry Brown
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55
votes
4 answers
Why do iterators in Python raise an exception?
Here's the syntax for iterators in Java (somewhat similar syntax in C#):
Iterator it = sequence.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
System.out.println(it.next());
}
Which makes sense. Here's the equivalent syntax in Python:
it =…
NullUserException
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55
votes
3 answers
Which is a better practice - helper methods as instance or static?
This question is subjective but I was just curious how most programmers approach this. The sample below is in pseudo-C# but this should apply to Java, C++, and other OOP languages as well.
Anyway, when writing helper methods in my classes, I tend to…
Ilian
- 653
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54
votes
5 answers
How would you assess a programmer's Github profile?
Lots of people in the open source community say they strongly consider a candidate's Github profile when hiring.
I'm active on Github, with a few projects of my own and some contributions to others. But looking at my own profile as if I were an…
Nathan Long
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54
votes
11 answers
How does one network at software conferences?
I'm still at Microsoft TechEd, and the response to my question about how to effectively use my time at software conferences was overwhelmingly "networking is the most useful part of software conferences".
Problem: I have no idea how to even approach…
Billy ONeal
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54
votes
14 answers
Is it ever a good idea to hardcode values into our applications?
Is it ever a good idea to hardcode values into our applications? Or is it always the right thing to call these types of values dynamically in case they need to change?
Edward
- 2,149
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54
votes
11 answers
Is the 80 character limit still relevant in times of widescreen monitors?
on a widescreen monitor one can easily see more than 80 characters at a time, without scrollbars. even linus torvalds sees the 80 character limit as outdated.
so, is the 80 character limit still relevant in times of widescreen monitors?
Lesmana
- 1,559
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54
votes
14 answers
Effective Ways to Introduce Agile into the Workplace?
In your experience (anecdotal or otherwise), what are some effective ways to introduce Agile into a non-Agile organization or company?
UPDATED: Can anyone speak to cases where you tried to introduce Agile but you were "shot down"? Also, do you now…
Troy DeMonbreun
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54
votes
11 answers
Why are /// comment blocks important?
Someone once said we should prefix all our methods with the /// comment blocks (C#) but did not explain why.
I started to use them and found they annoyed me quite a bit, so stopped using them except for libraries and static methods.…
Rachel
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