The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

JCM · 2007-10-09 Reply Admin

The MAZZTer:
The only reason you'd need to is if it was a bit more computationally hard, and ran several hundred times (or around there) a second in some time-critical code (ie a game rendering loop or something).

Even if I had to use that value a lot, I wouldn't hard code the value as a constant-- I'd just calculate it once and cache the value in a local variable.

2007-10-11 Reply Admin

Josh:
Of course, the *idea* was that you were supposed to document the *purpose* of each value.

It's particularly prevalent in the SAP world - the standard code supplied thby the beastly huns uses names like CHARA for 'A', irrespective of the context (depending on what the target field is it could mean many different things- status unprocessed, asset account, inquiry document) and developers have picked up the habit.

It does, of course, prevent you from setting 'A' and testing for 'a', but that's about all it achieves.

2007-10-11 Reply Admin

ChiefCrazyTalk:
Actually there *is* a European French, which is distinct from the French spoken in Canada.

No. In France (which isn't the same as Europe, despite what they might think) they speak French. One word. The pap they prattle in Quebec is Canadian French, the garbage they spout in Geneva is Swiss French. As for the Belgians, well, they're Belgian.

There is no such thing as French Champagne either; if it needs a qualifyer for the country of origin it isn't bloody champagne.

2007-10-11 Reply Admin

Hognoxious:
... the standard code supplied thby the beastly huns uses names like CHARA ...

Do you mean the code coming from Hungary? Actually, this country is inhabited by magyars. Despite the names suggest, there is no relation between "the huns" and "Hungary".

2007-10-12 Reply Admin

tray:
Do you mean the code coming from Hungary?

Mmmmm. No.

tray:
Actually, this country is inhabited by magyars. Despite the names suggest, there is no relation between "the huns" and "Hungary".

Are you Hungarian? Because you clearly aren't clever enough to be a Polack. Sheesh.

real_aardvark · 2007-10-12 Reply Admin

Hognoxious:
tray:
Do you mean the code coming from Hungary?
Mmmmm. No.
tray:
Actually, this country is inhabited by magyars. Despite the names suggest, there is no relation between "the huns" and "Hungary".
Are you Hungarian? Because you clearly aren't clever enough to be a Polack. Sheesh.

To be absolutely fair, if, by "the huns," he meant "the Germans," then he's got a good point.

Apart from that contentious bit that started with Ferdinand I and ended with a bullet in Franz-Josef's head, of course. Let's be honest, Hungarians spent the entire three centuries pointing out that they were a sovereign people, and not ruled by Huns after all. And quite right, too.

And then there's WW2 and Admiral Horthy.

But what's five years between friends?

2007-10-22 Reply Admin

Okay.

Now this is one of the few times where I actually stopped in everything I was doing and just stared in disbelief for a minute or so.

To think that there is someone who does this on purpose... shudder

2007-12-06 Reply Admin

phil:
Err.. no they didn't. They just used the English spelling, as opposed to the American English spelling.
(I live in England. We speak English. There is no such thing as "British English" - that would be like "European French". It is the other variants which should be named differently.)

I like your viewpoint, but you are wrong - It is forty in English and American English

2008-06-26 Reply Admin

real_aardvark:
Would you rather type FOURTHOUSANDANDNINETYSIX, or MMMMIVC?

Actually, MMMMLXLVI would be the correct representation.

2010-07-09 Reply Admin

T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM:
ZOMGNINTENDOSIXTYFOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUURRRRRRR

I know this is an ancient WTF, but that is simply THE best post I have seen in a month of reading through the archives.

You win.

2021-10-19

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