Coding Horrors: You can gather all your technical debt into one easy framework!

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NotShadowStar: Sep 20, 2000

Pardot posted:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/wonglab/jiangh/seqmap/ Grad student code

fffffffffffffff goddamn I'm getting PTSD

One of the big reasons why I left the biological sciences was the code was universally terrible. Outstandingly so. Like 'well that's brilliant that it works, but you shouldn't be doing it'. The tool authors didn't know what the gently caress, refused to listen to anyone who had actual experience in the 'real world' (me), and I couldn't talk to the PIs because they're like 'it works who gives a gently caress'. Which left people like me trying to glue this wretched poo poo together was left holding the bag.

And EVERY SINGLE loving UTILITY HAS ITS OWN TEXT BASED TREE FILE FORMAT. I wrote SO MANY GODDAMN STATE MACHINES PROCESSING lovely TEXT FORMATS I WAS IMPREGNATED BY RAGEL. R͔̠̹͖̲͕�̪̗̫g͔ḛ̫̺̬̞l̤̦̮̦̦̭ ̬̝͕͖͈̣̬͞h̞a̴̖̘̲̤͖s̶͉̼̤̠̠̤ ̶̱̣̫̮̟ḅ̖͚̭̲ȩ̩͈͚͚͍̘e̷̙͙̥̖̰͇n̜͖̪̰͟ͅ ̡̦̮̬͖̺̥m̖͔y҉͇ ̹̼̫͜o̟̤͎n͉l̦̺͈̖̫͉͕y̰̝̱̭͓ ̪̻͎͇f̗̠͈̼r̲͖͙i͓̲̞͉̯ͅe̜̣n͇͟d̼͍̩̕.͕̤̦͡ ͕R̷͚͉ạ̧̦̙g͙̪̰̖͉͔͇͜e̹̯͍l̰͚̜̣̮̖ ͎̼̼͙w͉i͖͖͙̳̦͚͝l̺̤̞͚ͅl͍̟̬̮̦͎̭͞ ͍̠̤͙̀d҉͎̬͙͉̖͇o͙͓̠̪͞ ̳̼̮̟͘me̸͔ ̡̲n҉o҉̮̘͇͉̞̭ h͍a̷̰̭̻̻ͅr̶͈͖͖̙̻m̫̪ͅ.̤ ̲͕L̰̥̥̳̣̻͘i̠̪̹͞v̼̫̭͖͈e̢̯̫͖̹̻͈͚ ̷t̛͎̳̝̙͉̲̰ḫ̞r̘̼̜̥̬̣o̼̠u͚̭̥͕̘̞͞ͅg͓̯̲̻h ͍̻̩t̼́h̳̪̠̥͞ͅȩ̫ ͚͇͚̼̀s̠̝͓̙͍̲ta̤̫̝̫̤̱̥͝t̹̱̲͉̳̯͔͢e̲͖s̬ ̥t̴͖͉̙̖̰o̡̗͔̫ th͚̟̻̤̩͞e͈͍ ̴X̫͘M̫͎̬͇̬̣L̻̩͉̖̼ ̴͈͎p̧̦̣r̤͕e̛̞͖̗͇̮̪p҉̜̫̭ro͍c͉̜ḙ̣͓̜͢s͎̳͖s̘͔̝̖o̝̭̞̺̝r̭.͉̬̮ͅ ̡͓̪̰Ŗ̠͚̗̖̤a̧ģ̯e̶̠̠͔̣̺̤̱l̜͖̭̙̪̹͎ ̶̤͚̮͎͎s̗̦̝͔̪͍͞h̠̼̼̫͢o͇͚͢ͅẃ̞̘̜̙̰̙s̫̭͖͙̻̩̺ ̴̥th̻̺̝̲̯ḙ̹̪̣̖ ̱b̤a̞͝b͈̗͍͉̕y̪͡ ̖̻̬̦̬̻t̵̠̲͍ͅr̘͍̩̮̜u͚̺t̰͍̹͚́h͜ ̜ṯ̶̻̞̖o̹͎̯̦͉̬ ̪̫͜t͓̝̺́ḩ̭̠͈̰̰͇e͈̲̘̗̯̠ͅ ͕͎e̺͓n̩̙͉d̰͚͍̟̙̮̻ ͍ọ̹̹̻́f̺ ̟m͙̰̙͍̞̼̖y͔ ͏̜̘̜p̴a͏̼̫d̯̘̻͟d҉̱ị̼͚̺̙ͅn͏ģ̭̼͔̣ ̥͓̬̪d̨̲͕̭̙u̘̳̳͝ḿ̦̩m̖͈̠y̸̠̮̯͙̹ͅ.̰̥͔̙̫͜ ̧͚͚͕̙I͕̙̺͍̗̹͠t͕͈ ̸̣͙b͢re͓̳̼̩a̱̖̹͠t̛̯̟̩̻h͈̺̖͓͡e͎̹͍͚s̘̟͘ͅ ̡̙̭͈ț̵̖̤̺̜̮h̬̜̺͇̗͡e̡̱̭͇̳̪ ̣̬̫̼͈p͇̠̟̘̫̞r̛͙̪̳̜e̶̠͚̞͈̖͉s̨̼͈̹̖͇̫e̤͕̱̝n҉̰͎̜̰̼̳̝ta̗͓̳̤̟̲ͅt̵̰͖̰�͔o͢n̴͈̣,̜̭̪̫ ̀m̴͍͍̹̦͙̖̰o̰̩̻̰c̬͎̩͉͎͇͟ͅk̷̗ ͘u̦̱͈͇ͅp̳̹̲̹̠ ̫̗̣t̬̩̪͍̕h̖̻̩ḙ̷͕̻̗͍ ͓̘̩i͕̺̻̹̩̠̺n͙͢d̫̺e̜̮ͅn̵̠t͓̣̫ ̳͙̤̫̞̣͜ͅf̬̟o̼͍̣r͕̪̗̣͕̹͉ ͇̮͕̣͇͞ͅa̙̥͜l̺̼͍̤̳l̙͎ ҉y͏̘̣̘̞̭͉o̫̩̼͖̝̮̹͞u͍̙͞r͉̟̭̩͡s̨͔̻͕̳.̧̹̥͓͓͖

# ? Jun 15, 2011 18:46

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 14, 2024 10:19

suction: Jul 17, 2009

has this been posted? Found it on Reddit from 4chan

code:

#!/bin/bash
function f() {
    sleep "$1"
    echo "$1"
}
while [ -n "$1" ]
do
    f "$1" &
    shift
done
wait

example usage:
./sleepsort.bash 5 3 6 3 6 3 1 4 7

# ? Jun 15, 2011 19:07

Wheany: Mar 17, 2006; Spinya^{ha^{ha^haha}ha}ha_{ha_{ha_haha}ha}ha!; Doctor Rope

Munkeymon posted:

You found one of my current employer's sites, I guess?

Well in that case I have access to your current employer's VCS :v:

# ? Jun 15, 2011 19:15

Munkeymon: Aug 14, 2003; Motherfucker's got an
armor-piercing crowbar! Rigoddamndicu𝜆ous.

Wheany posted:

Well in that case I have access to your current employer's VCS

Oh, my bad - you didn't mention any empty tables being used as spacers between the layout sub-tables, so probably not us.

# ? Jun 15, 2011 19:29

raminasi: Jan 25, 2005; a last drink with no ice

NotShadowStar posted:

fffffffffffffff goddamn I'm getting PTSD

One of the big reasons why I left the biological sciences was the code was universally terrible. Outstandingly so. Like 'well that's brilliant that it works, but you shouldn't be doing it'. The tool authors didn't know what the gently caress, refused to listen to anyone who had actual experience in the 'real world' (me), and I couldn't talk to the PIs because they're like 'it works who gives a gently caress'. Which left people like me trying to glue this wretched poo poo together was left holding the bag.

And EVERY SINGLE loving UTILITY HAS ITS OWN TEXT BASED TREE FILE FORMAT. I wrote SO MANY GODDAMN STATE MACHINES PROCESSING lovely TEXT FORMATS I WAS IMPREGNATED BY RAGEL. R͔̠̹͖̲͕�̪̗̫g͔ḛ̫̺̬̞l̤̦̮̦̦̭ ̬̝͕͖͈̣̬͞h̞a̴̖̘̲̤͖s̶͉̼̤̠̠̤ ̶̱̣̫̮̟ḅ̖͚̭̲ȩ̩͈͚͚͍̘e̷̙͙̥̖̰͇n̜͖̪̰͟ͅ ̡̦̮̬͖̺̥m̖͔y҉͇ ̹̼̫͜o̟̤͎n͉l̦̺͈̖̫͉͕y̰̝̱̭͓ ̪̻͎͇f̗̠͈̼r̲͖͙i͓̲̞͉̯ͅe̜̣n͇͟d̼͍̩̕.͕̤̦͡ ͕R̷͚͉ạ̧̦̙g͙̪̰̖͉͔͇͜e̹̯͍l̰͚̜̣̮̖ ͎̼̼͙w͉i͖͖͙̳̦͚͝l̺̤̞͚ͅl͍̟̬̮̦͎̭͞ ͍̠̤͙̀d҉͎̬͙͉̖͇o͙͓̠̪͞ ̳̼̮̟͘me̸͔ ̡̲n҉o҉̮̘͇͉̞̭ h͍a̷̰̭̻̻ͅr̶͈͖͖̙̻m̫̪ͅ.̤ ̲͕L̰̥̥̳̣̻͘i̠̪̹͞v̼̫̭͖͈e̢̯̫͖̹̻͈͚ ̷t̛͎̳̝̙͉̲̰ḫ̞r̘̼̜̥̬̣o̼̠u͚̭̥͕̘̞͞ͅg͓̯̲̻h ͍̻̩t̼́h̳̪̠̥͞ͅȩ̫ ͚͇͚̼̀s̠̝͓̙͍̲ta̤̫̝̫̤̱̥͝t̹̱̲͉̳̯͔͢e̲͖s̬ ̥t̴͖͉̙̖̰o̡̗͔̫ th͚̟̻̤̩͞e͈͍ ̴X̫͘M̫͎̬͇̬̣L̻̩͉̖̼ ̴͈͎p̧̦̣r̤͕e̛̞͖̗͇̮̪p҉̜̫̭ro͍c͉̜ḙ̣͓̜͢s͎̳͖s̘͔̝̖o̝̭̞̺̝r̭.͉̬̮ͅ ̡͓̪̰Ŗ̠͚̗̖̤a̧ģ̯e̶̠̠͔̣̺̤̱l̜͖̭̙̪̹͎ ̶̤͚̮͎͎s̗̦̝͔̪͍͞h̠̼̼̫͢o͇͚͢ͅẃ̞̘̜̙̰̙s̫̭͖͙̻̩̺ ̴̥th̻̺̝̲̯ḙ̹̪̣̖ ̱b̤a̞͝b͈̗͍͉̕y̪͡ ̖̻̬̦̬̻t̵̠̲͍ͅr̘͍̩̮̜u͚̺t̰͍̹͚́h͜ ̜ṯ̶̻̞̖o̹͎̯̦͉̬ ̪̫͜t͓̝̺́ḩ̭̠͈̰̰͇e͈̲̘̗̯̠ͅ ͕͎e̺͓n̩̙͉d̰͚͍̟̙̮̻ ͍ọ̹̹̻́f̺ ̟m͙̰̙͍̞̼̖y͔ ͏̜̘̜p̴a͏̼̫d̯̘̻͟d҉̱ị̼͚̺̙ͅn͏ģ̭̼͔̣ ̥͓̬̪d̨̲͕̭̙u̘̳̳͝ḿ̦̩m̖͈̠y̸̠̮̯͙̹ͅ.̰̥͔̙̫͜ ̧͚͚͕̙I͕̙̺͍̗̹͠t͕͈ ̸̣͙b͢re͓̳̼̩a̱̖̹͠t̛̯̟̩̻h͈̺̖͓͡e͎̹͍͚s̘̟͘ͅ ̡̙̭͈ț̵̖̤̺̜̮h̬̜̺͇̗͡e̡̱̭͇̳̪ ̣̬̫̼͈p͇̠̟̘̫̞r̛͙̪̳̜e̶̠͚̞͈̖͉s̨̼͈̹̖͇̫e̤͕̱̝n҉̰͎̜̰̼̳̝ta̗͓̳̤̟̲ͅt̵̰͖̰�͔o͢n̴͈̣,̜̭̪̫ ̀m̴͍͍̹̦͙̖̰o̰̩̻̰c̬͎̩͉͎͇͟ͅk̷̗ ͘u̦̱͈͇ͅp̳̹̲̹̠ ̫̗̣t̬̩̪͍̕h̖̻̩ḙ̷͕̻̗͍ ͓̘̩i͕̺̻̹̩̠̺n͙͢d̫̺e̜̮ͅn̵̠t͓̣̫ ̳͙̤̫̞̣͜ͅf̬̟o̼͍̣r͕̪̗̣͕̹͉ ͇̮͕̣͇͞ͅa̙̥͜l̺̼͍̤̳l̙͎ ҉y͏̘̣̘̞̭͉o̫̩̼͖̝̮̹͞u͍̙͞r͉̟̭̩͡s̨͔̻͕̳.̧̹̥͓͓͖

I'm pretty sure this is all scientific programming. I work with some physicists who have an elaborate simulation application, written in Fortran, that doesn't use any Fortran numerical libraries.

# ? Jun 15, 2011 19:38

Lexical Unit: Sep 16, 2003

NotShadowStar posted:

fffffffffffffff goddamn I'm getting PTSD

Rant could also be about defense contracting. :argh:

# ? Jun 15, 2011 19:44

Orzo: Sep 3, 2004; IT! IT is confusing! Say your goddamn pronouns!

Janin posted:

yup

which city

# ? Jun 15, 2011 20:16

Lysidas: Jul 26, 2002; John Diefenbaker is a madman who thinks he's John Diefenbaker.; Pillbug

NotShadowStar posted:

One of the big reasons why I left the biological sciences was the code was universally terrible. Outstandingly so. Like 'well that's brilliant that it works, but you shouldn't be doing it'. The tool authors didn't know what the gently caress, refused to listen to anyone who had actual experience in the 'real world' (me), and I couldn't talk to the PIs because they're like 'it works who gives a gently caress'. Which left people like me trying to glue this wretched poo poo together was left holding the bag.

GrumpyDoctor is right; this is all scientific programming. When I started to implement an algorithm for my bioinformatics research, my advisor told me:

quote:

I can tell you've worked in industry, since you want your implementation to be perfect. Don't worry about that. Make it work well enough, get results, publish the paper, and move on.

The pressures that we're under in academia ("publish or perish") are guaranteed to produce horrible code that works just well enough to get results out of.

# ? Jun 15, 2011 22:00

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

Lysidas posted:

The pressures that we're under in academia ("publish or perish") are guaranteed to produce horrible code that works just well enough to get results out of.

Good luck to others who want to reproduce your work!

# ? Jun 15, 2011 22:27

ToxicFrog: Apr 26, 2008

This is compounded by the fact that most academics that aren't in CS or something closely related have little experience and no formal training in programming. So they learn just enough fortran/C/python to make something that works (or adapt existing code into something that works), get the results, and move on.

In the parallel programming class that I TA, we often see researchers from other disciplines (physics and biology in particular) who are hoping to learn enough to parallelize their takes-days-to-run software and get some significant improvements. In most cases, they lack the fundamentals that are necessary to understand the course material; the rest often decide to just stick with what they have rather than completely redesigning the program (which is often what would be necessary).

# ? Jun 15, 2011 22:40

NotShadowStar: Sep 20, 2000

Lysidas posted:

The pressures that we're under in academia ("publish or perish") are guaranteed to produce horrible code that works just well enough to get results out of.

Problem being is that these tools are unleashed and it's expected to let the garden variety bench researchers throw data at and get results, but they barely loving function in the first place. These people have never even seen a terminal and a lot of these utilities expect ridiculous piping in and out.

I saw a paper published before I left that had a home grown utility requirement of Python < 2.0.

Also the idea of 'just get results out' was a fallacy because they keep going back to the same tools and pipelines but them just adding more poo poo to them.

Thermopyle posted:

Good luck to others who want to reproduce your work!

I brought up this very point. Repeatedly. Without the exact homegrown pipelines chaining all of this horrible poo poo together it's impossible to reproduce with the data sets and all the massaging needed to get from one loving terrible tool to another.

They essentially said :dealwithit:

Goddamnit I'm going to go zalgo again the more I talk about it.

# ? Jun 15, 2011 23:03

raminasi: Jan 25, 2005; a last drink with no ice

I get the impression that there are an awful lot of scientists out there who could really use a software engineer just attached to their groups to, well, actually engineer their software. I basically have that job, and I think it's the best thing ever.

# ? Jun 15, 2011 23:38

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

GrumpyDoctor posted:

I get the impression that there are an awful lot of scientists out there who could really use a software engineer just attached to their groups to, well, actually engineer their software. I basically have that job, and I think it's the best thing ever.

This does sound like a great job. I love science and software and helping people.

I think I'll take your job, ok?

# ? Jun 16, 2011 00:53

minato: Jun 7, 2004; cutty cain't hang, say 7-up.; Taco Defender

suction posted:

has this been posted? Found it on Reddit from 4chan

code:

#!/bin/bash
function f() {
    sleep "$1"
    echo "$1"
}
while [ -n "$1" ]
do
    f "$1" &
    shift
done
wait

example usage:
./sleepsort.bash 5 3 6 3 6 3 1 4 7

This is beautiful.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 00:53

trex eaterofcadrs: Jun 17, 2005; My lack of understanding is only exceeded by my lack of concern.

GrumpyDoctor posted:

I get the impression that there are an awful lot of scientists out there who could really use a software engineer just attached to their groups to, well, actually engineer their software. I basically have that job, and I think it's the best thing ever.

There was an opening for this exact position at Argonne when I was looking... but the goddamn lab is impossible to get to in a reasonable time frame from where I live. I seriously considered moving.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 01:19

Bozart: Oct 28, 2006; Give me the finger.

TRex EaterofCars posted:

There was an opening for this exact position at Argonne when I was looking... but the goddamn lab is impossible to get to in a reasonable time frame from where I live. I seriously considered moving.

Forget scientists. Be an embedded programmer with quants (scientists who want money) in finance and get paid $stupid.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 02:40

Zombywuf: Mar 29, 2008

Indentation deliberately preserved:

code:

	                    queryString.AppendFormat("&amp;{0}={1}", paramName, strOrder);

Over a thousand lines later (yes, same function):

code:

			url = url.Replace("&amp;", "&").ToLowerInvariant();

# ? Jun 16, 2011 15:00

Vanadium: Jan 8, 2005

Zombywuf posted:

code:

\t                    [...]

code:

\t\t\t[...]

Gotta love that.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 15:44

Wheany: Mar 17, 2006; Spinya^{ha^{ha^haha}ha}ha_{ha_{ha_haha}ha}ha!; Doctor Rope

var LOG_OK = 1;

Looks like "login ok" or "user logged in", right? WRONG! It's opposite day!

if(!(username.length > 0 && username != "guest")){
LOG_OK = 0;
}

[.....]

if(!LOG_OK){
showConfigLink();
}

Why would you even?

# ? Jun 16, 2011 15:52

Lexical Unit: Sep 16, 2003

My boss just came into my office and told me he's putting using namespace std; in a header file I wrote because his textual parser for some swig whatever doesn't recognize std::string, just string.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 15:59

TasteMyHouse: Dec 21, 2006

Lexical Unit posted:

My boss just came into my office and told me he's putting using namespace std; in a header file I wrote because his textual parser for some swig whatever doesn't recognize std::string, just string.

can you at least convince him to use using std::string;?

# ? Jun 16, 2011 17:10

Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

TasteMyHouse posted:

can you at least convince him to use using std::string;?

"It's your code that is broken, not my parser"

# ? Jun 16, 2011 17:21

duck monster: Dec 15, 2004

Ignore the image macros in the thread on this patch:

https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee/commit/a047be85247755cdbe0acce6#diff-0

code:

@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ case "$DISTRO" in

   ln -s /usr/lib/mesa/ld.so.conf /etc/alternatives/gl_conf
   rm -rf /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules
   rm -rf /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules-bumblebee
-  rm -rf /usr /lib/nvidia-current/xorg/xorg
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/nvidia-current/xorg/xorg
   ln -s /usr/lib/nvidia-current/xorg /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules-bumblebee
   ldconfig 

  ;;

I wonder how many people got their machines bricked by this clanger.

duck monster fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Sep 8, 2022

# ? Jun 16, 2011 18:18

qntm: Jun 17, 2009

Wheany posted:

var LOG_OK = 1;

Looks like "login ok" or "user logged in", right? WRONG! It's opposite day!

if(!(username.length > 0 && username != "guest")){
LOG_OK = 0;
}

[.....]

if(!LOG_OK){
showConfigLink();
}

Why would you even?

My favourite is a big chunk of code which made extensive use of a variable called $noRetries. It was about half an hour before I realised that this was intended to mean "number of retries", not "disable retries".

# ? Jun 16, 2011 18:21

qntm: Jun 17, 2009

duck monster posted:

Ignore the retarded image macros in the thread on this patch:

https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee/commit/a047be85247755cdbe0acce6#diff-0
code:
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ case "$DISTRO" in

   ln -s /usr/lib/mesa/ld.so.conf /etc/alternatives/gl_conf
   rm -rf /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules
   rm -rf /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules-bumblebee
-  rm -rf /usr /lib/nvidia-current/xorg/xorg
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/nvidia-current/xorg/xorg
   ln -s /usr/lib/nvidia-current/xorg /etc/alternatives/xorg_extra_modules-bumblebee
   ldconfig 

  ;;
I wonder how many people got their machines bricked by this clanger.

I don't know much about bash but doesn't this change fix the line of code which deletes /usr? Surely the change where that error was introduced would be more of a facepalm.

EDIT: Here we go.

qntm fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Jun 16, 2011

# ? Jun 16, 2011 18:28

Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

qntm posted:

I don't know much about bash but doesn't this change fix the line of code which deletes /usr? Surely the change where that error was introduced would be more of a facepalm.

EDIT: Here we go.

Yes, but now is when it was noticed, so now is what is getting posted.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 18:39

Lexical Unit: Sep 16, 2003

TasteMyHouse posted:

can you at least convince him to use using std::string;?

It's not even worth the effort at this point. This is like the least horrible thing he's ever done.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 19:09

Zombywuf: Mar 29, 2008

From memory:

code:

StringBuilder encoded = new StringBuilder();

foreach (var c in name) {
  if (!Regex.Match(c.ToString(), "[+-_&\[\]/?<a few more characters here>]")) {
    encoded.Append(c);
  } else {
    encoded.AppendFormat("%{0:X}", (int)c);
  }
}

return encoded.ToString();

There's also a similar core piece of code that splits strings on the regex ":::". I shaved 10% of the CPU usage off a page load by changing it to split on a fixed string delimiter.

# ? Jun 16, 2011 19:20

PhonyMcRingRing: Jun 6, 2002

Zombywuf posted:

There's also a similar core piece of code that splits strings on the regex ":::". I shaved 10% of the CPU usage off a page load by changing it to split on a fixed string delimiter.

Are you me and having to split on ":::" due to the the god awful CascadingDropDown control from the AjaxToolkit by any chance? I just had to fix this up yesterday because we'd been using two regexes to parse out the SelectedValue from it. No idea why we weren't just doing a split on ":::".

# ? Jun 16, 2011 23:25

Randomosity: Sep 21, 2003; My stalker WAS watching me...

Found a bug in some inventory code today that was way, way old. It's bad programming, but it's bad because it expected PHP not to be quirky.

code:

$count = (string)$response->AvailableInventory;

if(!empty($count)){
        //Do stuff
}

Whoever wrote that (and, I don't think it was me, but it probably was) forgot that "0" string counts as empty. We couldn't update inventory to 0. Whoops! It probably shouldn't be cast into a string though.

# ? Jun 17, 2011 04:35

decarboxylated: May 4, 2006; cells!

NotShadowStar posted:

fffffffffffffff goddamn I'm getting PTSD

One of the big reasons why I left the biological sciences was the code was universally terrible. Outstandingly so. Like 'well that's brilliant that it works, but you shouldn't be doing it'. The tool authors didn't know what the gently caress, refused to listen to anyone who had actual experience in the 'real world' (me), and I couldn't talk to the PIs because they're like 'it works who gives a gently caress'. Which left people like me trying to glue this wretched poo poo together was left holding the bag.

And EVERY SINGLE loving UTILITY HAS ITS OWN TEXT BASED TREE FILE FORMAT. I wrote SO MANY GODDAMN STATE MACHINES PROCESSING lovely TEXT FORMATS I WAS IMPREGNATED BY RAGEL. R͔̠̹͖̲͕�̪̗̫g͔ḛ̫̺̬̞l̤̦̮̦̦̭ ̬̝͕͖͈̣̬͞h̞a̴̖̘̲̤͖s̶͉̼̤̠̠̤ ̶̱̣̫̮̟ḅ̖͚̭̲ȩ̩͈͚͚͍̘e̷̙͙̥̖̰͇n̜͖̪̰͟ͅ ̡̦̮̬͖̺̥m̖͔y҉͇ ̹̼̫͜o̟̤͎n͉l̦̺͈̖̫͉͕y̰̝̱̭͓ ̪̻͎͇f̗̠͈̼r̲͖͙i͓̲̞͉̯ͅe̜̣n͇͟d̼͍̩̕.͕̤̦͡ ͕R̷͚͉ạ̧̦̙g͙̪̰̖͉͔͇͜e̹̯͍l̰͚̜̣̮̖ ͎̼̼͙w͉i͖͖͙̳̦͚͝l̺̤̞͚ͅl͍̟̬̮̦͎̭͞ ͍̠̤͙̀d҉͎̬͙͉̖͇o͙͓̠̪͞ ̳̼̮̟͘me̸͔ ̡̲n҉o҉̮̘͇͉̞̭ h͍a̷̰̭̻̻ͅr̶͈͖͖̙̻m̫̪ͅ.̤ ̲͕L̰̥̥̳̣̻͘i̠̪̹͞v̼̫̭͖͈e̢̯̫͖̹̻͈͚ ̷t̛͎̳̝̙͉̲̰ḫ̞r̘̼̜̥̬̣o̼̠u͚̭̥͕̘̞͞ͅg͓̯̲̻h ͍̻̩t̼́h̳̪̠̥͞ͅȩ̫ ͚͇͚̼̀s̠̝͓̙͍̲ta̤̫̝̫̤̱̥͝t̹̱̲͉̳̯͔͢e̲͖s̬ ̥t̴͖͉̙̖̰o̡̗͔̫ th͚̟̻̤̩͞e͈͍ ̴X̫͘M̫͎̬͇̬̣L̻̩͉̖̼ ̴͈͎p̧̦̣r̤͕e̛̞͖̗͇̮̪p҉̜̫̭ro͍c͉̜ḙ̣͓̜͢s͎̳͖s̘͔̝̖o̝̭̞̺̝r̭.͉̬̮ͅ ̡͓̪̰Ŗ̠͚̗̖̤a̧ģ̯e̶̠̠͔̣̺̤̱l̜͖̭̙̪̹͎ ̶̤͚̮͎͎s̗̦̝͔̪͍͞h̠̼̼̫͢o͇͚͢ͅẃ̞̘̜̙̰̙s̫̭͖͙̻̩̺ ̴̥th̻̺̝̲̯ḙ̹̪̣̖ ̱b̤a̞͝b͈̗͍͉̕y̪͡ ̖̻̬̦̬̻t̵̠̲͍ͅr̘͍̩̮̜u͚̺t̰͍̹͚́h͜ ̜ṯ̶̻̞̖o̹͎̯̦͉̬ ̪̫͜t͓̝̺́ḩ̭̠͈̰̰͇e͈̲̘̗̯̠ͅ ͕͎e̺͓n̩̙͉d̰͚͍̟̙̮̻ ͍ọ̹̹̻́f̺ ̟m͙̰̙͍̞̼̖y͔ ͏̜̘̜p̴a͏̼̫d̯̘̻͟d҉̱ị̼͚̺̙ͅn͏ģ̭̼͔̣ ̥͓̬̪d̨̲͕̭̙u̘̳̳͝ḿ̦̩m̖͈̠y̸̠̮̯͙̹ͅ.̰̥͔̙̫͜ ̧͚͚͕̙I͕̙̺͍̗̹͠t͕͈ ̸̣͙b͢re͓̳̼̩a̱̖̹͠t̛̯̟̩̻h͈̺̖͓͡e͎̹͍͚s̘̟͘ͅ ̡̙̭͈ț̵̖̤̺̜̮h̬̜̺͇̗͡e̡̱̭͇̳̪ ̣̬̫̼͈p͇̠̟̘̫̞r̛͙̪̳̜e̶̠͚̞͈̖͉s̨̼͈̹̖͇̫e̤͕̱̝n҉̰͎̜̰̼̳̝ta̗͓̳̤̟̲ͅt̵̰͖̰�͔o͢n̴͈̣,̜̭̪̫ ̀m̴͍͍̹̦͙̖̰o̰̩̻̰c̬͎̩͉͎͇͟ͅk̷̗ ͘u̦̱͈͇ͅp̳̹̲̹̠ ̫̗̣t̬̩̪͍̕h̖̻̩ḙ̷͕̻̗͍ ͓̘̩i͕̺̻̹̩̠̺n͙͢d̫̺e̜̮ͅn̵̠t͓̣̫ ̳͙̤̫̞̣͜ͅf̬̟o̼͍̣r͕̪̗̣͕̹͉ ͇̮͕̣͇͞ͅa̙̥͜l̺̼͍̤̳l̙͎ ҉y͏̘̣̘̞̭͉o̫̩̼͖̝̮̹͞u͍̙͞r͉̟̭̩͡s̨͔̻͕̳.̧̹̥͓͓͖

I literally have an entire directory of awful scripts i've written for parsing horrifying undocumented text formats from the 70s. gently caress structural biology software and everything related to it.

Does the PDB file format specification count as a horror?

ftp://ftp.wwpdb.org/pub/pdb/doc/format_descriptions/Format_v32_letter.pdf

# ? Jun 17, 2011 06:38

duck monster: Dec 15, 2004

qntm posted:

I don't know much about bash but doesn't this change fix the line of code which deletes /usr? Surely the change where that error was introduced would be more of a facepalm.

EDIT: Here we go.

Yeah thus the - + in the diff. But thats not really what I was pointing out. The fact that it was there in the first part.

From memory Eve Online had a similar bug once that wiped out the BOOT.INI (or whatever its called) on everyones windows boxes.

# ? Jun 17, 2011 06:43

duck monster: Dec 15, 2004

GrumpyDoctor posted:

I'm pretty sure this is all scientific programming. I work with some physicists who have an elaborate simulation application, written in Fortran, that doesn't use any Fortran numerical libraries.

Scientists are generally horrible coders. When that whole climategate frameup was going on, people where gasping on horror at some of the numerical processing code that was leaked.

The funny thing was, I doubt there was an experienced fortran coder on the planet that would have even blinked at it. Its just what happens when you get a non programmer and put "ultramaths basic" in front of him. Its going to be awful.

Interestingly enough some of the tightest code I've seen came from some biologist dudes I worked with at my old uni that where doing DNA sequencing stuff. Those guy could code up a loving storm.

# ? Jun 17, 2011 06:46

Doc Hawkins: Jun 15, 2010; Dashing? But I'm not even moving!

duck monster posted:

Ignore the retarded image macros in the thread on this patch:

Can't! I like this one:

# ? Jun 17, 2011 07:48

ahmini: May 5, 2009

I saw something like this the other day:

code:

switch(var)
{
    case 1:
    // do stuff
    break;

    case 2:
    // do stuff
    goto label1;

    case 3:
    // do stuff
    goto label2;

    case 4:
    // do stuff
    break;

    case 5:
label1:
    // do stuff
    break;

    case 6:
label2:
    //do stuff
    break;

    default:
    // do stuff
}

# ? Jun 17, 2011 10:40

Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

I wish Java had gotos, I had a parser that used a for-switch and they would have really helped there

# ? Jun 17, 2011 10:56

gibbed: Apr 10, 2006

ahmini posted:

I saw something like this the other day:

What's wrong with fall-through? (I'm assuming that wasn't wrapped in a for).

# ? Jun 17, 2011 11:25

Tamba: Apr 5, 2010

Aleksei Vasiliev posted:

I wish Java had gotos, I had a parser that used a for-switch and they would have really helped there

Java has labeled breaks:
http://www.java2s.com/Code/Java/Language-Basics/Javalabeledforloop.htm

And...for-switch? Like this? :ohdear:

# ? Jun 17, 2011 12:07

Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

Tamba posted:

Java has labeled breaks:
http://www.java2s.com/Code/Java/Language-Basics/Javalabeledforloop.htm

And...for-switch? Like this?

Labeled breaks aren't the same thing as gotos.

And yes but my case was justified and not bizarre like that thing. I haven't actually worked on it for awhile since I got bored with parsing binary->XML, but I'm pretty sure gotos would have helped me write cleaner code in that method.

# ? Jun 17, 2011 12:13

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# ? May 14, 2024 10:19

Hammerite: Mar 9, 2007; And you don't remember what I said here, either, but it was pompous and stupid.; Jade Ear Joe

Is there a language that allows fallthrough inside switch, but requires you to explicitly declare it? Like this

code:

switch (myvar) {
    case 1:
        // stuff
        break;
    case 2:
        // stuff
        fallthrough;
    case 3:
        // stuff
        break;
    default:
        // stuff
}

and failing to use one of a certain set of acceptable statements* immediately before the next "case" label is an error?

* break, fallthough, return, exit, probably others

# ? Jun 17, 2011 15:07

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Cavern of COBOL > Coding Horrors: You can gather all your technical debt into one easy framework!

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