The Weird and The Wonderful

The Weird and The Wonderful forum is a place to post Coding Horrors, Worst Practices, and the occasional flash of brilliance.

We all come across code that simply boggles the mind. Lazy kludges, embarrassing mistakes, horrid workarounds and developers just not quite getting it. And then somedays we come across - or write - the truly sublime.

Post your Best, your worst, and your most interesting. But please - no programming questions . This forum is purely for amusement and discussions on code snippets. All actual programming questions will be removed.

Re: I didn't write this..

PIEBALDconsult9-Nov-17 2:22

PIEBALDconsult

9-Nov-17 2:22

And put a pound in the poor box.

Re: I didn't write this..

Sascha Lefèvre9-Nov-17 0:23

Sascha Lefèvre

9-Nov-17 0:23

Thank you

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson

Re: I didn't write this..

Daniel Pfeffer15-Nov-17 0:23

Daniel Pfeffer

15-Nov-17 0:23

Sascha Lefèvre wrote:
Please absolve me

In order to receive absolution, you must rewrite the entire application in VB6.

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

--Winston Churchill

Re: I didn't write this..

Sascha Lefèvre15-Nov-17 0:26

Sascha Lefèvre

15-Nov-17 0:26

It might actually end up being better than it is.. Unsure | :~

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson

Re: I didn't write this..

Rob Grainger10-Dec-17 12:40

Rob Grainger

10-Dec-17 12:40

I've actually seen a Caeser Cipher[^] used to encode passwords, so that's not too bad by comparison.

"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.

Re: I didn't write this..

Sascha Lefèvre11-Dec-17 5:27

Sascha Lefèvre

11-Dec-17 5:27

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson

Enum num num

Duncan Edwards Jones25-Oct-17 0:49

Duncan Edwards Jones

25-Oct-17 0:49

One can only wonder what was going on here....

'Generates search string using the hierarchy:
'1. SEDOL and ISIN and CUSIP  2. SEDOL and ISIN    3. SEDOL    4. ISIN   5. CUSIP
Public Enum HierarchycalEquitySeachType As Integer
    SEDOL_ISIN_CUSIP___SEDOL_ISIN___SEDOL___ISIN___CUSIP
End Enum

Re: Enum num num

PeejayAdams25-Oct-17 1:47

PeejayAdams

25-Oct-17 1:47

Don't you just love underscores?

I once saw a sproc written by someone who had never heard of DATETIME as a datatype. There were about 3 million lines of "code" and, needless to say, it made vintage cat puke look pretty. The single most lamentable aspect of it, though, was that he padded his names with underscores to make everything the same length (especially ironic given that he didn't see any reason to format his code in any way whatsoever). It all went something like:

select some bilge from badlynamedappointmenttable where is_monday______morning = 0 and is_monday____afternoon = 0 and is_tuesday_____morning = 0 and is_tuesday___afternoon = 0 and is_wednesday___morning = 0 ...

Reams and reams and reams of it.

How long did it take to type? How many hours did he sit there wondering why no-one had ever bothered to put some kind of date handling mechanism into an otherwise sophisticated RDBMS engine? How many times did he resist the temptation to rename his idiot columns because he couldn't figure out how many underscores to type?

These, and many other questions, will probably remain unanswered for as long as the one of what on earth someone meant by ...

'Generates search string using the hierarchy:
     '1. SEDOL and ISIN and CUSIP  2. SEDOL and ISIN    3. SEDOL    4. ISIN   5. CUSIP
     Public Enum HierarchycalEquitySeachType As Integer
         SEDOL_ISIN_CUSIP___SEDOL_ISIN___SEDOL___ISIN___CUSIP
     End Enum

98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Re: Enum num num

charlieg25-Oct-17 3:10

charlieg

25-Oct-17 3:10

I know enumerations, but I don't know why underscores would be special in them. Confused | :confused:

Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759

Re: Enum num num

Duncan Edwards Jones25-Oct-17 4:24

Duncan Edwards Jones

25-Oct-17 4:24

They aren't in any way - it seems you know enumerations better than the person who wrote that code.

Re: Enum num num

OriginalGriff25-Oct-17 22:06

OriginalGriff

25-Oct-17 22:06

They are if you get the enum element name using ToString, and then Split it:

Dim h As HierarchycalEquitySeachType = HierarchycalEquitySeachType.SEDOL_ISIN_CUSIP___SEDOL_ISIN___SEDOL___ISIN___CUSIP
Dim HierarchycalEquitySeachType____Value As String = h.ToString()
Dim searchHierarchy As String() = HierarchycalEquitySeachType____Value.Split(New Char() {"_"C}, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)

yOu then have the hierarchy you need.
Probably.

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Re: Enum num num

Bernhard Hiller25-Oct-17 23:08

Bernhard Hiller

25-Oct-17 23:08

Likely only partially correct. Looking at the comment above the enum definition and at its single member, I conclude that the first split to be done uses 3 underscores, afterwards each item gets split with a single underscore.

Oh sanctissimi Wilhelmus, Theodorus, et Fredericus!

Re: Enum num num

OriginalGriff26-Oct-17 0:15

OriginalGriff

26-Oct-17 0:15

No, the extra underscores are there for emphasis!

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Re: Enum num num

Brisingr Aerowing25-Oct-17 19:48

Brisingr Aerowing

25-Oct-17 19:48

I think we wondered about it the last time you posted that as well...[^]

What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?

The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.

Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???

Re: Enum num num

Duncan Edwards Jones25-Oct-17 20:16

Duncan Edwards Jones

25-Oct-17 20:16

Good lord - it's worse that I thought!
(I should have fixed it back then....)

What the elephant did I just step in?

Dave Kreskowiak23-Oct-17 4:45

Dave Kreskowiak

23-Oct-17 4:45

Picture this. VB.NET code written by a newb that needs to be updated with some support for a new file format.

I'm looking at a single method that's 17 pages(!) long and doesn't return anything.

It contains NINETY EIGHT If statements. Some are chained together with ElseIf, some are nested down to five levels deep.

There is lots of this:

VB.NET

    If condition-expression Then
        ' Do nothing
    ElseIf condition-expression Then
        If condition-expression Then
            ' Empty block
        Else
            ' Holy elephant, do something here!
        EndIf
    ElseIf condition-expression Then
        ' Holy elephant, do something here!
    ElseIf condition-expression Then
        ' Yeah, another empty block here too!
    Else
        ' Oh! And this block is empty too.
End If

Shoot me. Please. I beg of you.

System.ItDidntWorkException: Something didn't work as expected.

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Click this: Asking questions is a skill.
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Dave Kreskowiak

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

madwilliamflint23-Oct-17 4:48

madwilliamflint

23-Oct-17 4:48

So do you guys really have no process for vetting noobcode?

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Dave Kreskowiak23-Oct-17 5:34

Dave Kreskowiak

23-Oct-17 5:34

This isn't a production app. It's a tool that's used by a couple of teams, and no, there was no cuh thing a vetting.

System.ItDidntWorkException: Something didn't work as expected.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

Click this: Asking questions is a skill.
Seriously, do it.

Dave Kreskowiak

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

raddevus23-Oct-17 5:21

raddevus

23-Oct-17 5:21

Wait!
I think I know that guy who wrote that method.
I mean, there couldn't be two people in the world that would do that could there? Unsure | :~

I thought he was drummed out of development years ago though.

EDIT
Oh, wait, our guy didn't use methods.
He wrote all of his code copy/past style and it was something like 20 pages long too.
It was the same for loop copy pasted over and over.
And, it was in prod and it finally failed in the for loop.
So Instead of fixing it in one place... Dead | X|

Yes, I'm serious.

EDIT 2
And I should mention -- and I'm not kidding -- he was a MCSD. Fantastic test taker, I'm sure. Hmmm | :|

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Dave Kreskowiak23-Oct-17 5:36

Dave Kreskowiak

23-Oct-17 5:36

Quote:
he was a MCSD. Fantastic test taker, I'm sure.

I is all book smarts and stuff now. Laugh | :laugh:

System.ItDidntWorkException: Something didn't work as expected.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

Click this: Asking questions is a skill.
Seriously, do it.

Dave Kreskowiak

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Rob Grainger10-Dec-17 12:43

Rob Grainger

10-Dec-17 12:43

I've been a professional programmer for over 30 years, and can assure you that there are many, many folk who produce that kind of cruft.

"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

MarkTJohnson23-Oct-17 6:49

MarkTJohnson

23-Oct-17 6:49

You owe it to yourself and those that follow to refactor that thing. Otherwise, the next If Then you add might cause the compiler to wave the white flag with a "Nesting too deep" error.

Seen it, done it. At least the doesn't have goto's does it? Mine had that too.

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Bernhard Hiller23-Oct-17 22:49

Bernhard Hiller

23-Oct-17 22:49

MarkTJohnson wrote:
goto

You mean something like:

If condition-expression Then
    ' Do nothing
ElseIf condition-expression Then
    If condition-expression Then
        ' Empty block
    Else
        ' Holy elephant, do something here!
        ...
        Goto Step123
    EndIf
ElseIf condition-expression Then
    ' Holy elephant, do something here!
    ...
    :Step123
    ...
    Goto Step234
ElseIf condition-expression Then
    ' Yeah, another empty block here too!
Else
    ' Oh! And this block is empty too.
End If
...
:Step234
...
Goto Step123

Oh yeah, that's much more interesting!

Oh sanctissimi Wilhelmus, Theodorus, et Fredericus!

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Sander Rossel24-Oct-17 0:04

Sander Rossel

24-Oct-17 0:04

I know the feeling.
And in SQL too.

Best,
Sander

arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
SQL Server for C# Developers Succinctly
Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly

Re: What the elephant did I just step in?

Nagy Vilmos24-Oct-17 1:03

Nagy Vilmos

24-Oct-17 1:03

I could swap your VB with some MATLAB I've got hanging around here.

veni bibi saltavi

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