The Code Project Latest postings for Hall Of Shame

Do you want string or string?

TheOtherCPian — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:10:00 GMT

OK, by Hall Of Shame standards, this isn't too bad. Still worth sharing...

KeyValuePair<DateTime, string> lastItem;
//Some code...
if (lastItem.Value != null && lastItem.Value.ToString().Trim() != "")
{
//Some more code...

Three things jump out at me:
1. Use of empty string literal instead of String.Empty
2. Seperate testing of null and empty string instead of String.IsNullOrEmpty()
3. Calling ToString() on something that is already a string.

#1 and #2 isn't too serious, especially if you consider that you also want to trim the string, so you need to check for null before trying to trim anyway. #3, on the other hand, confuses me. Why would you want to call ToString() on a string?

Bad filtering

Jtai — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:12:00 GMT

Hi guys

im new here but i tough i would share this example of code i encountered a couple months back

in one class

Select field1,field2,field3
From table1
Where type="EDU"

the only fucntion using this result set was coded like this

If(field1=cond1 and field2=con4 and Active=true)
 do something
else If(field1=cond1 and field2=con2 and Active=true)
do something
else If(field3=cond10 and field2=con2 and Active=true)
do something else

this went on for like 9 time

now someone added another If lower down in the code but forgot the Active=true hense causing a bug ! now after searching to make sure that the Selqct wasent used anywhere else(the name was a dead give away but you never know)

First off

Select field1,field2,field3
From table1
Where type="EDU" AND Active=True

PLEASE add this AND ... just reducing the result set will bost this application speed has its database was Huge

as for the rest we where not allowed to modify working code but come on 9 inbricked iff with some repeating coditions ....

DAO Framework

Chanoch Wiggers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:06:00 GMT

tecgoblin wrote:
It's surprising how many people try to create their own solutions to problems which already have established and well-behaving solution :S.

In the spirit of this comment I wanted to introduce a new standard - the DAO Framework. Problem: "Some day you may wish to change databases." Solution: "Create a generic database access framework to ease migration."

Example:

Firstly, define a DBConst file as follows:

public class DBConst {
  public static String SELECT = "SELECT";
  public static String WHERE = "WHERE";
  public static String AND = "AND"
  etc
}

Then create an interface: SQLFactory as follows:

public interface SQLFactory {
  public String createSQL(String[] selectors, String[] whereClauses);
}

If I remember correctly, now all you have to do is (Not in the original this was a class, I invented using interfaces - yay me):

public interface MyTable {
  public static String TABLE_NAME = "MyTable";
  public static String COL_1 = "Col1";
  public static String COL_2 = "Col2";
}

Okay, we're nearly ready to write some code:

public class MyTableDao {
  public MyObject selectObject(String selector) {
    // list the columns to select
    String[] columns = {MyTable.COL_1, MyTable.COL_2);
    Object[] types = {DbTypes.DATE, DbTypes.INTEGER};
 
    // list the selector(s) for the statement "WHERE COL_1 = ?"
    String[] whereClause = {MyTable.COL_1};
    Object[] whereValues = {selector};
 
    MySqlFactory sqlFactory = new MySqlFactory();
    String sql = sqlFactory.createSql(columns, whereClause);
 
    PreparedStatement ps = connect.prepareStatement(sql)
 
    // this might have been a generic utility actually. Overridden 
    // for complex requirements maybe?
    MySqlInjector.injectValues(ps, new Object[] {selector});
 
    // get the resulting data and create objects from it
    ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(query);
    MyObject[] objs = MyObjectFactory.getObjects(rs, columns, types);
 
}

Yeah, I think that was it. I'm writing from memory from 5 years ago so forgive if errors.

Key standards:
* List the columns to retrieve

sb.append(DbConsts.SELECT).append(" ").append(COL).append(,) ...

* List the types of the columns so an object factory can retrieve the right type

if(type[0]==DbTypes.INTEGER) rs.getInt(); // or whatever

* List the WHERE clauses

sb.append(DbConsts.WHERE).append(" ").append(clauses[0]...

I forgot about the static object factories until now. I suspect the SQL factories were static rather than implementations of an interface. It was more by program by convention.

The rest of the implementation is left as an exercise for the reader.

Can we stop all this nonsense with Hibernate now please?

Connectivity test

MatthysDT — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:19:00 GMT

I came across the following, working on some one else's project:

            pingHost pping = new pingHost();
            //if ping is false then connection issues
            if (!pping.ping("www.google.com")) {
                MessageBox.Show("The application is unable to connect to the internet and cannot continue.")
                return;
            }

So, I take it that Google IS the internet.
What's more, this app runs on a VPN and in some cases on a LAN where the server is in the same building.

I wonder how many seemingly unrelated applications, neigh, systems, will EPICALLY FAIL throughout the world the day Google dies or decides to block ICMP requests.
(Maybe that's the event the Mayans predicted for 21 December 2012?)

The beauty that is the default conversion...

OriginalGriff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:40:00 GMT

Ladies and Gentlemen!
Direct, from the wonders of Q&A (no, names, no embarrassment - although it is most definately deserved):

SqlDataAdapter dad = new SqlDataAdapter("Select * from esrdat where esrdat_date between '" + Convert.ToDateTime(dateTimePicker1.Value) + "' and '" + Convert.ToDateTime(dateTimePicker2.Value) + "'", con);

Here, for your delectation we have:

1) Take a valid DateTime
2) Use a default conversion to a string
3) Convert it back to a DateTime
4) Then pass that (converted back to a string via another default conversion) to SQL
But in the local format, rather than anything SQL is expecting, which is ISO format.

Twice.

And it's in Q&A because SQL doesn't like the date format it eventually gets passed...

Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

Enabling backwards compatibility

Chanoch Wiggers — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:30:00 GMT

So this is an approach that proved so successful that it was made into a standard. You're writing a shared library and you're concerned to ensure future compatibility across services. Problems include:

* How to support non built-in types? (e.g. MyCustomType)
* How to support float, int, double, etc?
* How to prevent constantly updating interfaces from complicating builds?

Best approach? Well, how about you convert all your arguments into Strings to transfer across the wire and then convert them back.

Every method has the following signature:

public String[] doSomething(String[] args, String userId)

Then you have a static library that allows:

TypeUtils.stringify(Object object); // native types are supported by simply ""+myVar
Object obj = TypeUtils.fromString(String string, String fromType);

Easy. (Note you may need to cast the object returned from TypeUtils.fromString(). User id is there to ensure security, obviously. You don't have to use the TypeUtils but you are encouraged to, for convenience.

This way, when you swap args[2] and args[3], or when you introduce a new argument at the end, you don't have to declare a new version of the interface.

Simply keep the same version interface jar throughout and require everyone to use the very latest implementation.

This is why I don't program

Strictly Short Circuit

AspDotNetDev — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:02:00 GMT

Names changed to protect the innocent...

I'm working with some VB.net projects and I decided to turn on Option Strict. It threw an error for this line:

If someProp Is Nothing OrElse String.IsNullOrEmpty(someProp.Value OrElse someProp.Value = "0") Then

This is what was intended:

If someProp Is Nothing OrElse String.IsNullOrEmpty(someProp.Value) OrElse someProp.Value = "0" Then

for option explicit! for the fact that I have several projects to go and I'm working in the order of best code to worst code.

Thou mewling ill-breeding pignut!

Code should be 5 or anything above 7 long...

Naerling — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Before people start... The horror is NOT that this is VB code... Now with that out of the way...
A bit of weird code a colleague found recently...

' This code should always be 5 characters long.
If code.Length < 5 Or code.Length = 6 Or code.Length = 7 Then
   Throw New Exception("Code should be 5 characters long.")
End If

My guess is that the programmer assumed it would be 5 characters long or less. Then it turned out it could be 6 too so the Or code.length = 6 part was added, then the code was 7 at some occurrence... The users weren't stupid enough to enter an 8 character code so that one hasn't been added (yet)
Why not simply check if code.Length <> 5?

It's an OO world.

public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
    public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}

Logical AND with false...

Albert Holguin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:09:00 GMT

Didn't notice this little piece of code and it was making me think some sections worked completely different than they actually do.

//C++
if(m_Config.m_isContinuous && false){ //<- should have probably payed closer attention to that...
   //A whole bunch of code that I thought was getting executed
}
else{
   //What's actually getting executed
}

Guess that was left like that for lack of time to clean up or something... but it shure led me astray...

Classical unitialized C pointer

Jochen Arndt — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:59:00 GMT

While porting an old DOS software to Windows that controls a temperature bath, i came across this code to show error messages:

COUNT showerr(COUNT res)
   {
   char *szGp;
   ...
   sprintf(szGp,"ibsta:%x iberr:%x ibcnt:%x",ibsta,iberr,ibcnt);
   ...
   }

There are 18 lines of code between declaration and first usage.

The date of last modification was in 1997. The oldest sources I found are dated 1996, but I know that the initial sources must be from about 1989 (they should exist somewhere on floppy disks and printed sources may be buried somewhere in the basement storage).

The colleagues from the calibration lab told me, that they always wonder why the software often locks after showing an error message.

Code Optimize

Rajesh Anuhya — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:06:00 GMT

Today I found this code, from DAL class

public Boolean Execute_NoN_Query(string Sqlstring)
      {
             int ResultFlag = 0;
              ResultFlag = MSSqlHelper.SqlHelper.ExecuteNonQuery(SqlServerConnection.Cn, CommandType.Text, Sqlstring);
 
              if  (ResultFlag != 0)
                  return true;
              else
                  return false;
      }

My Code is ....

public Boolean Execute_NoN_Query(string Sqlstring)
{
    return (0 != MSSqlHelper.SqlHelper.ExecuteNonQuery(SqlServerConnection.Cn, CommandType.Text, Sqlstring));
}

my Tip/Tricks[^] | "Rajesh-Puli" now "Rajesh-Anuhya"

Congratulations, you have overtaxed the .NET garbage collector!

ekolis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:15:00 GMT

Trying to translate a winforms app into silverlight, which doesn't have blocking socket operations:

private void ReceiveTelnetDataRepeatedly()
{
	while (connection != null && connection.isconnected)
	{
		connection.CheckForNewBytes();
		ProcessData(connection.GetIncomingStrings());
	}
}

This was executing in a thread, and the "check for new bytes" was allocating an 8K array every time... within 30 seconds, I'd allocated 1.5GB of RAM and caused an OutOfMemoryException...

Why is dates so difficult?

Jan Steyn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:26:00 GMT

    DECLARE @Month VARCHAR(2), @Year VARCHAR(4)
IF (month(GETDATE())) = 1
BEGIN
	Set @Month = MONTH(DateAdd(month, -1, GETDATE()));
	Set @Year =  YEAR(DateAdd(month, -1, GETDATE()));
END
ELSE
BEGIN
	Set @Month = MONTH(GETDATE()) -1
	Set @Year = YEAR(GETDATE())
END

I just shook my head... It could have been done as easily as:

DECLARE @Month VARCHAR(2), @Year VARCHAR(4)
	Set @Month = MONTH(DateAdd(month, -1, GETDATE()));
	Set @Year =  YEAR(DateAdd(month, -1, GETDATE()));

What one Should do if Program warns you about one's uninitialized variable?

johny10151981 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:29:00 GMT

My Priors Idea is hide it.

So from the Servers Initialization file Error and Warning is completely disabled during development time.

Code Repeating

johny10151981 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:17:00 GMT

Take a look at the algorithm

function Process()
{
  if(error!="")
  {
   //   Some HTML code over 1000 lines with javascript
  }
  else if(update!="")
  {
   //   Same like above   with same f-king javascript
  }
  else 
  {
   // Same 1000 of lines with same javascript. 
  }
}

now my job is to make some change, for new requirements. the file is over 4000 lines. And reading over hour I actually failed to figure out how actually it works. Authority got that reason, I am not good enough. I agreed with them.

Oh the reason to change the code was "Performance and incomplete verification"

Gem... As time goes by..

virang_21 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:29:00 GMT

    private string GetTime(string strShiftCode, string strTime)
        {
            string strReturn = "";
 
                switch (strTime)
                {
                    case "01":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "02":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "03":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "04":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "05":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "06":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "07":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "08":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "09":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "10":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "11":
                        strReturn = "AM";
                        break;
                    case "12":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "13":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "14":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "15":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "16":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "17":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "18":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "19":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "20":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "21":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "22":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "23":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
                    case "24":
                        strReturn = "PM";
                        break;
 
                }
 
            return strReturn;
        }

Found this one on one of the project assigned to me today.... It really is about quality control..

One variable passed is never been used in function and do I really need a function ?

My solution :

 
string strReturn = Int32.Parse(strTime.Trim())<12 ? "AM" : "PM";

Zen and the art of software maintenance : rm -rf *

Math is like love : a simple idea but it can get complicated.

Stupid code

zenwalker1985 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:21:00 GMT

Long back i saw this code chunk which was causing alot of issue once a while, unfortunately that code did not had proper logs/comments/exception catching mechanisms involved. So we did had to spend atleast half a day to find it..

class MyClass
{
   static int value = 10;
   static int Value { get { return Value; } }
}

At first it was a bit difficult to find where stackoverflow exception was occuring and then i was wondering what made the original developer do this stupid way and released with out even testing.

My Blog -> https://adventurouszen.wordpress.com/

The developer's golden rule, 100% true

TestShoot — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:23:00 GMT

The only sound rule that applies to all processes, standards, and approaches is the following:

"The only rule, is that there are exceptions to all rules"

I was talking to my coworkers (all former contractors) about SVN and when to commit, some said "on save", others "end of day" and of course "when I am done". This is interesting to me, that not everything is worth committing, and sometimes things are critical, that every line counts. This is just one of those things, we developers are pragmatic. Our careers are in constant Limbo, between heaven and hell, and the fragility is an ever-present reality. I am sure you have your own examples.

*--==[::tSc::]==--*
TestShoot.com
Film Supplies
TBB aka P90X (my day job)

How to Train Your Programmer

Rajesh_Francis — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:21:00 GMT

I just found the following code

if (Name == "Ticket")
{
IngGenInvPs post = new IngGenInvPs(taxBO, "Ticket");
}
else if (Name == "Advertisement")
{
IngGenInvPs post = new IngGenInvPs(taxBO, "Advertisement");
}
else if (Name == "Asset")
{
IngGenInvPs post = new IngGenInvPs(taxBO, "Asset");
}
else if (Name == "Telecom")
{
IngGenInvPs post = new IngGenInvPs(taxBO, "Telecom");
}
else
{
IngGenInvPs post = new IngGenInvPs(taxBO, "Inventory");
}

Gem code

zenwalker1985 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Today while reviewing one of the code, i found this chunk

class MyClass
{
    private int m_SomeValue;
    
    public int SomeValue
    {
        get { return m_SomeValue;}
    }
    public void SomeMethod()
    {
        var value = GetValue();
        //Some core logic on value
    }
    
    private int GetValue()
    {
        return SomeValue;
    }
}

At first i started to think is there any catch behind this style. after few mins, i found its lame to write this way and finally it was admitted