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1500 questions
53
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2 answers
How should C++ Unit Test code be organized for maximum Unit Test efficiency?
This question is not about Unit Testing Frameworks.
This question is not about writing Unit Tests.
This question is about where to put the UT code written and how/when/where to compile and run it.
In Working Effectively with Legacy Code, Michael…

Martin Ba
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52
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20 answers
What are the steps in beginning a large project, when all I have is a big idea?
I am computer engineering student. I've been thinking about
how I can handle a big project. What should be my first step to reach my goal in a more efficient and effective way?
When I come up with a project, I don't know how I should start working…
user12654
52
votes
18 answers
Completing a project successfully despite hostile management?
I work for a subsidiary of a large world wide company. This was not a subsidiary from the beginning, it was a company bought by the larger company.
We seem to be heading toward a death march and I'm wondering if there is anything I (or my team) can…

ionn
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52
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9 answers
When and how a programmer should start own business?
The title says it all but here's some explanation of what I want to know: Let's suppose a programmer has around 5 years of experience in multiple, mainstream languages. Also suppose that the programmer has worked in different positions from junior…

Yasir
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52
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12 answers
What is a Ph.D. good for in the software industry?
I'm a self-taught programmer and have just started a computer science degree to supplement my knowledge and fill in the gaps.
However, I'm already debating the direction of my education. I want a 4 year bachelor's degree for sure, but after that,…

Carson Myers
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52
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11 answers
How can we make agile enjoyable for developers that like to personally, independently own large chunks from start to finish
We’re roughly midway through our transition from waterfall to agile using scrum; we’ve changed from large teams in technology/discipline silos to smaller cross-functional teams.
As expected, the change to agile doesn’t suit everyone. There are a…

Kris
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52
votes
12 answers
If your unit test code "smells" does it really matter?
Usually I just throw my unit tests together using copy and paste and all kind of other bad practices. The unit tests usually end up looking quite ugly, they're full of "code smell," but does this really matter? I always tell myself as long as the…

Buttons840
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52
votes
15 answers
Why are there so many programming languages? Why are new languages still being made?
Why are there so many programming languages?
And what prompts someone to create a programming languages in spite of the fact that other languages already exist?

Moshe
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52
votes
1 answer
How do you design programs in Haskell or other functional programming languages?
I have some experience in object oriented programming languages like c# or ruby. I know how to design a program in object oriented style, how to create classes and objects, and how to define relations between them. I also know some design…

Luke
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52
votes
9 answers
How to maintain different, customized versions of the same software for multiple clients
we have multiple clients with different needs. Although our software is modularized to a degree, it's almost certain that we need to adjust every module's business logic here and there a little for each customer. The changes are probably too tiny to…

Falcon
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52
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11 answers
Why isn't Lisp more widespread?
I am starting to learn Scheme by the SICP videos, and I would like to move to Common Lisp next.
The language seems very interesting, and most of the people writings books on it advocate that it has unequaled expressive power. CL seems to have a…

Andrea
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52
votes
8 answers
I'm a CS student, and honestly, I don't understand Knuth's books
I stumbled upon this quote from Bill Gates: "You should definitely send me a resume if you can read the whole thing." He was talking about The Art of Programming books. So I was pretty curious and want to read it all. But honestly, I don't…

Rho
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52
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6 answers
Is denormalising a database for speed an anti-pattern?
I have a database with a 1:m relationship.
I have to display a list of parents to the user rapidly on a home screen at startup. The parent shows a single piece of information that is a sum of a particular child field for that parent.
I don’t want…

tommytucker7182
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52
votes
11 answers
How is software used in critical life-or-death systems tested?
An airplane, as opposed to, for example, a website, is a system where any failure in certain systems is completely unacceptable, since errors in e.g. flight monitoring can cause the autopilot to malfunction and do a dive. Obviously, this doesn't…

waiwai933
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52
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12 answers
How do you normalize coding style among multiple isolated developers?
We're a small/medium sized company with a dozen or so software developers, developing our own in-house software for in-house use. Given that there's so few of us and there's just so much work to be done, for most part each developer handles a…

Vilx-
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