Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Amateur. I regret it unwritten.


That's the best strategy. The most bug-free code is the one that wasn't written in the first place, therefore I refuse to write code unless absolutely necessary :).


Not to mention the best one for code coverage. When junior devs ask me for advice regarding increasing code coverage, I tell them instead of writing more tests, how about writing less code? Our boss really liked that one.


This goes hand in hand with one of my favourite IT jokes, which says that the perfect system has no users.


Unfortunately, I've seen IT departments taking this joke as an axiom. It seems common in schools and universities, where the infrastructure is maintained by being so limited as to be completely useless - and hence unused, and thus without problems caused by users...


One of my favorite tricks, that I sometimes play on myself:

Insist the person documents all the quirks and gotchas in a block of code or library. Sometimes the embarrassment at having to justify it will prompt them to fix the problem, other times they (or I) will realize that it literally takes less time to fix the issue than it does to apologize for it.

Something about the writing process unearths simpler solutions to tricky sounding problems. Possibly the same phenomenon that TDD tries to exploit.


I bet I could screw it up anyways.


An Ankhmorporkian always can.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2027 batch! Applications are open till November 2.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: