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What to do...., I have think I have spotted an error in some legacy code I am meant to be replacing (I have asked some odd quesitons on the C# help boards to this end) and have seen this error which I think has been covered up. I think the boards we are working on return a value that is at odds to the documentation, or the data is reversed but how and why If I do the botch in my software, that appears to make it work the same way as the acient handhelds that I am supposed to be replacing, do I fudge it for a quiet life, raise alarm bells, or say to my boss ("I am having issues here, we had a discussion this morning about it). I'm in favour of saying to the boss "poss bug, am I doing this right?". I can see problems with what ever I do. BTW is this a Lounge question?
Glenn
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I would say you have to raise it.
Your job is to make the new work the same as the old.
'Fixing' it could create further problems.
Both of the above are wrong in their own way.
The right thing has to be to raise the problem and let someone make a decision who is paid to make decisions.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
Shed Petition[ ^]
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Ah well, I was thinking that but was going to wait until Boss has calmed down a bit (lots of caffine trying to sort out some problems with the actual boards not appearing on the USB bus!) not really helping I come up with an issue now! (he will do a Stressed Eric or worse!)
Glenn
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Apparently the thing I was trying to copy was wrong.
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It sounds like nobody documented it.
I worked on a project were all comments were deemed bad 'in case clients got hold of the source'. As a result we had a lot of badly, undocumented code. I ended up having to fix an error in a module that took more than two weeks to do and test, the final change being a missing condition in the logic. Why did it take so long? The code had been very badly written and was undocumented. The problem code was due to a cludge that had been put in to work around the server not always being reliable.
Why wasn't the server working? It had been cludged to work around dubious inputs from the frogging client module I had to fix. The shite data was long gone but the stupid cludges remained causing a break on a few edge cases.
For the love of God, raise the issue and whatever you have to do DOCUMENT IT!
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H
OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre
I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer
Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett
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I raised it, greeted with it's doing it wrong there are bodges in the thing I am trying to copy I have to follow this mornings email. 
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Before modifying/replacing the code, create some unit tests (or test cases) that you know are valid (for the original code), have them checked with QA.
Update and replace the code, and run the tests, you should have the same results.
Nihil obstat
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Wish I could it's not really a modular project I'm writing a windows app to replace an obsolete hand held acient PSION, with the test unit I have.....
Sorry raised with the Boss. Apparently there are faults with the thing I am trying to copy!
This is mad!
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Talk to the tech writer, and get the documentation changed.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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There is no Tech Writer! this is a product that has had various owners (at least 2 I know of)
Oh to have Tech Writers too blame, we lucky some body came up with the docs we have! Ok bits are wrong but..... 
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OK, but the problem is still that the documentation doesn't match the "as built", and no-one seems to mind that it works the way it does, so the least painful fix is to change the documentation.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Mostly I think because no one has used it. But I raised it and people seem to be happy having to look in the wrong byte for data 
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