Dumped right in it

[dozer]

l;dr

but how can you uat code thats been on his machine and not under formal change control, ie source safe? assuming they are using source safe correctly.

[Zippy]

l;dr

but how can you uat code thats been on his machine and not under formal change control, ie source safe? assuming they are using source safe correctly.

They are not using SS correctly. SY01 is going to sort this out.

[d000hg]

I'm amazed nobody has found time to make a derogatory comment about SS yet... I used it on a project with no problems but every developer I ever spoke to hated it passionately.

[Zippy]

I'm amazed nobody has found time to make a derogatory comment about SS yet... I used it on a project with no problems but every developer I ever spoke to hated it passionately.

Yes, it is not brilliant (labelling code is utter shyte for example). They ain't using it properly though and - however shyte - it is better than nothing.

[d000hg]

True. I'm still unsure how anyone who leaves without checking in outstanding changes can be considered a good developer. A good programmer, maybe.

[zamzummim]

I honestly thought no one uses VSS anymore… thought everyone is using team foundation by now!! But I’ve been out of techie dev kind of work for a few years now.

[Zippy]

True. I'm still unsure how anyone who leaves without checking in outstanding changes can be considered a good developer. A good programmer, maybe.

Nope you are correct. Thou shalt check in functioning code. Thou shalt not break the build. There is only One True smoke test. Smiting should be administered by your manager otherwise.
We are talking about the cowboy and not SY01 - yes? He's had a crap day as it is

[jmo21]

SuitsYou - do you a development comedy blog I could subscribe too?

this week we've had Office Joker and now this.

I find your predicaments highly entertaining! They are like all the cliche things that happen in IT.

In fact are you a script writer for the IT Crowd trying out new material for the next series?

[Tingles]

SuitsYou - do you a development comedy blog I could subscribe too?

this week we've had Office Joker and now this.

I find your predicaments highly entertaining! They are like all the cliche things that happen in IT.

In fact are you a script writer for the IT Crowd trying out new material for the next series?

21st century - Tony Hancock...

It'll make him millions I tell ya...

[OwlHoot]

You won't believe this but a couple of years ago I had a perl contract at a small insurance company, and the first day I had to fix bugs by editing the live scripts. There was no source control, no test environment, and of course no UAT.

When I expressed amazement and slight alarm, the project leader said "Yes I know, it's not ideal; but try not to save the scripts unless they're likely to compile, as customers are running them at the moment."

The scripts were each about 20,000 lines long, each a web app with a couple of dozen screens, and the way the site was set up it was next to impossible to copy them and run versions "offline" with test URLs.

Mind you, they did seem to make money, and the MD knew his business even if he did run the company out of his hat. Apparently he had previously interviewed developers applying for a job there, although not knowing anything about programming himself; his main hiring criterion had been whether the candidate played PC games, believing that this indicated a promising hacker.