Comments on: Who wants a sloppy workplace?

By: Alastair Revell

Alastair Revell — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:23:37 +0000

I agree with you totally about code formatting. It really gets under my skin too and I believe it also undermines productivity when working with more than one person. If everyone works to an agreed house style, it is certainly easier for each member of the team to get to grips with the code. We certainly have fairly stringent internal requirements at Revell Research Systems for our code layout and when I've lectured I've insisted my undergraduates adopt a house style (actually very similar to the one used in-house in the consultancy), which has always made marking much easier, if nothing else! Your article also reminded me of mine on bannering, which you might like to take a look at (if you already haven't!)

By: Hans-Eric

Hans-Eric — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:51:02 +0000

Exactly! It breaks the flow.

By: Hans-Eric

Hans-Eric — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:46:46 +0000

Insightful!
Bad, or more precisely, unfamiliar formatting is like noise around the message. Also, I think you’re right about our tendency to criticize eachothers code. That attitude can be good at times, but often hinder us to get to the core of the problem we’re working on.

By: Adrian Neagomir

Adrian Neagomir — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:58:08 +0000

I think part of the problem of seeing that kind of code is that you are not familiar with it. It takes some time to understand it and your fist perception of that difficulty is the wrong formatting. Then variable naming…etc. I guess we work like compilers: parse, compile and execute mentally.

Also we the programmers tend to dismiss code written by others and tend to be critical with it. This is not bad but those critics should not be expressed immediately.

What I am saying is not in favor of the sloppy code but maybe a reason the first perception is negative.

By: Krishnan

Krishnan — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:51:07 +0000

IMO, I am more distracted by sloppy looking code – it breaks the FLOW state. I am less disturbed by surroundings. Wwhen you work in a cubicle farm, you kind of tend to tune out noise, walkers, conversations etc. but your eyes are easily disturbed by the lack of harmony in code. Thinking happens best when you are looking at code, your mind constantly making new neural connections by the possibilities. Anything that disturbs that is bothersome.

By: Hans-Eric

Hans-Eric — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:08:47 +0000

Hi Steve,

I think that’s a good analogy. It’s all about (good) habits.

By: Hans-Eric

Hans-Eric — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:05:48 +0000

I guess you’re right, maybe I shouldn’t consider my real workplace my real workplace. Perhaps my virtual workplace is my real workplace? Wait, my head is spinning.

By: Hans-Eric

Hans-Eric — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:02:38 +0000

I’d like to see a picture of that square foot and its surroundings

By: BCS

BCS — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:35:30 +0000

One word came to mind from the pics: “surgical”. At my desk (all three of them :b ) I have a grand total of about a square foot (~ 0.1 m^2) clear surface area. As long as you can find the object you need it doesn’t matter what the storage space looks like.

By: Steve Campbell

Steve Campbell — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:55:08 +0000

I don’t think of it as messiness, as much as cleanliness. Professional chefs “work clean” in the same way that professional programmers should be working clean – as soon as we open the door to dirty habits, then we limit our ability to quickly and safely deliver new meals/codes.