Each programmer that wants something, like a part of a line from a text file or a field in a db record, just gets it directly from the source individually on the spot.
Coder #1 22 years ago needs the customers name, looks up the customer row and discards. Or maybe doesn't disacard it but still no one else benefits.
Coder #2 needs the customer email, fetches and discards the same db row. Does not know that coder #1 already loaded it.
Repeat 2035 times over the course of 15 years.
No one knows what all the other code is doing, they just know they were told to add or modify some detail feature today like add another field to the printed invoice or something.
They don't touch any of the existing code, they just add in the new little job they were given today.
Now it's 2036 lookups of that same db row.
It's avoidable but requires a leader. Someone who can all 3, recognize the problem, devise a reasonable way to address it, power to tell everyone else to do it.
Last place I worked all coders were more or less equal, no architacture lead and so no cohesive architecture, and the owner didn't recognize such things as important, all the owner cared about was saying yes to every customer every day and billing. And so we had this big time. Every process throughout the system. It was all local file based dbs so the OS and hardware magic-ed away most of the evil with filesystem and disk cache.
nah. its been working like this for the last 15 years you say? if anybody suggests touching the code, send them to better pastures...youll save yourself from a nightmare situation, dont ever touch that code...replace the system, yes, amend the existing code, never in ur life
3 comments
[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 17.0 ms ] threadEach programmer that wants something, like a part of a line from a text file or a field in a db record, just gets it directly from the source individually on the spot.
Coder #1 22 years ago needs the customers name, looks up the customer row and discards. Or maybe doesn't disacard it but still no one else benefits.
Coder #2 needs the customer email, fetches and discards the same db row. Does not know that coder #1 already loaded it.
Repeat 2035 times over the course of 15 years.
No one knows what all the other code is doing, they just know they were told to add or modify some detail feature today like add another field to the printed invoice or something.
They don't touch any of the existing code, they just add in the new little job they were given today.
Now it's 2036 lookups of that same db row.
It's avoidable but requires a leader. Someone who can all 3, recognize the problem, devise a reasonable way to address it, power to tell everyone else to do it.
Last place I worked all coders were more or less equal, no architacture lead and so no cohesive architecture, and the owner didn't recognize such things as important, all the owner cared about was saying yes to every customer every day and billing. And so we had this big time. Every process throughout the system. It was all local file based dbs so the OS and hardware magic-ed away most of the evil with filesystem and disk cache.