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Admin
Yep, as I said in the post just before yours ;)
Admin
We hired a Citrix "Expert" last year who came in, told us why everything was done wrong and said we should do something about fixing it.
When it was explained to him that we hired him to actually do the fixing, he balked and stalled and spent the next 4 months "working from home", holding meetings and producing test scripts but never actually got around to fixing anything.
He was promptly fired after being arrested in a dateline-like sting trying to have sex with underage girls he'd met on Yahoo.
Admin
Source control systems, just pick one: ClearCase, CVS, SVN, VSS, SourceSafe (many others), even SCCS. At least they have SOME control system. Hopefully they will "back out" many of Darrell's idiotic ...Equals(null) changes and "get back to work!"
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Eventually, of course, "different from" will wither on the vine, because it's just a little non-intuitive. I doubt it will get replaced by "different to," though, because that's not how mass ignorance works in a linguistic setting.
I expect it will be replaced by "different than."
See what you're doing by relaxing your standards?
PS Try the verbal form: "differs to..."
I think not.
Admin
Just remember the REAL WTF is [i] watcha going to do when they come for you![/]
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Just remember the REAL WTF is watcha going to do when they come for you!
-- sorry about fouling up the first post
Admin
I've always worked on small enough teams (less than 10) where locking files wasn't an issue. Merging is such a heinous, error-ridden "art" that I consider it a perk not to deal with.
Admin
Whatchyu talkin' 'bout Willis? VSS was purchased; it was originally Unix based and had also been ported to the Mac before the Windows port. They picked up VSS after the in-house hack, productized as Delta, failed to make inroads on the market -- after it had been locked to 16-bit Windows with a VxD just as Windows NT 3.1 was being released.
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...I'm working too hard, with all these "consultant" jobs out there that will pay me for doing nothing. Especially since I know not to do anything illegal when I'm drawing my "stay home and get paid" paycheck. I'm sure I could have squeezed at least a couple more months out of that deal with some effort. :P
Admin
If you are using a real source control system, your changes are merged with the original file (the one you checked out)
Merging three files isn't that complicated, it isn't very ehinous, and most of the "errors" can easily be spotted. This isn't a good reason to NOT let two people work on the same file.
Admin
And why would he be using it to download a torrent? He'll just have to download it to his home PC eventually anyway, right?
Admin
Theoretically he could come in and copy it to a USB stick/HDD/burn it, etc., but it seems highly unlikely. I agree, this seems to me like somebody's imagination also. Why would one browse do trading (browsing) over a torrent clogged connection, when one could do that on the PC that was used to remote.
Admin
Yes checkout/checkin has it's problems, but so does merging. I don't care what I'm working with, just tell me you have a policy on it and make sure everyone follows it. That policy should include things to handle collisions and people leaving things locked.
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I look at this from the human side: if you are management's darling then nothing is impossible for management is gullible ....
Admin
I agree that merges can be painful. (I'd actually like to claim that ClearCase addresses the issue, because the basic idea is good -- but it doesn't, really). Do not go near CVS. Experiment with Subversion where you, not some dingbat sysadmin, has control of the repository.
If you really think that a team of circa 10 people is "small enough" that you don't need an up-to-date source control system, then I'm going to weep. I know you're not an idiot. I know you'd use decent tools, if available.
This makes me suspect that we've gone backwards on source control over the last twenty years. I'd recommend Stratus/VOS TPS, but that would be slightly irrelevant, wouldn't it?
Admin
You obviously have never used CVS or SVN.
In such a case, merging actually fails and asks you which version to keep, or to merge the changes manually so it makes most sense. Conflict markers will be inserted into the file (which guarantee that compiling the file will fail), and svn will refuse to commit the file as long as the conflict is not yet "cleared".
See: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.1/ch03s05.html#svn-ch-3-sect-5.4
So basically, in case a conflict happened, both CVS and SVN require manual action and do NOT simply take over the "second" changes.
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Nobody really noticed, anyway.
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I've had just about as much of this idiocy as I can manage without climbing up a tower and spraying random passers-by with a Kalashnikov.
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... ever heard of this new-fangled thing called "usb stick".
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Maybe his broadband internet at home was cut ... as he spend all his money on clothes and coiffure.
Admin
You must be distraught for thinking of using a Kalashnikov: use a G3 or better a M-60 (only if you really strong) - the ammo penetrates much better for having almost the same mass.
On the other hand: K's are humanity's most efficient and widely used WMD.
Admin
I understand how it works, but practice is completly different.
The developer sees the line marked in conflict, looks at his specs and decides to keep his change and toss out the other deveopers work. This can cause the other code that depends on this to no longer work, and that code is outside the use case of the current developer making the decision.
It isn't the merge tools fault, I know. It is the practice and as I said, I don't care if I'm using in/out or merge, just provide a process that adquetly deals with the exceptions and have everyone follow them and I'm fine. The point is, merge is an art, in/out is a hard core rule. Rules are easier to handle, the art requires more practice.
Admin
On most VPN systems, once you connect to the VPN, you cannot use your internet connection to access the internet. This is a safety feature to prevent anything coming through your unsecured internet connection from accessing the network. Besides, he probably did it from work so the logs would show that we was at least connected...though it doesn't explain why he lied about the connection problems.
Admin
Maybe he had only one screen and couldn't tell the difference? Maybe it wasn't his etrade account but one he hacked, and using the work PC as a proxy-like anonymizer? For the same reason, downloading a torrent of copyrighted stuff that would be tough to trace back to him? TRWTF is that they didn't block torrent traffic in the workplace.
Admin
Sad, but way often true.
Used to work with a woman named Judy who basicalled BS'ed her way through an interview for a mainframe programmer's position. Day 1 comes along, they sit her down infront of a terminal, and she's absolutely clueless about what to do.
After being confronted about lying, she threw a fit and threatened to sue if they ever fired her. Management realized pretty quickly they had a world-class sociopath on their hands, but since it was past her 30-day evaluation, there wasn't much they could do. She managed to hang onto her job like a damn barnacle and make everyone's lives miserable for 6 years until she could be.. um... "downsized". Every week it was something new.
There are probably hundreds of stories of this woman I could share.
Admin
Well, one thing could be more different than another when compared to a third subject. Generally this would mean there is a greater number of differences. Since we're talking source control in all of these comments, maybe you have 2 edits of the same file; one changes a single line, the other changes several. The file with the several lines changed is more different than the one with a single line changed. Note: this does not invalidate the argument given in the link you provided; rather it supports it - sometimes different than is appropriate, sometimes it is not, it depends on the way the phrase is used. You are correct, of course, in the original sentence you objected to, "from" would be the more logically/technically correct word, rather than "than."
Admin
Your merge program should say. "WTF? I don't know which of these changes is correct. Figure it out and get back to me." Then you walk over to the other person working on the file and discuss what should be done.
If you required one person to have exclusive lock, you'd still have this problem. Person A would set i to 1 and check in, Person 2 would then set i to 2 and check in. Merging isn't the problem
Admin
Best...use...of "coiffure" in a sentance ever!
Admin
Code example: it was a typed example, not copy paste of the original source.. not a crime.
Trading over their connection: perhaps he was VPN'd in? i know my work VPN kills my local browser. He was downloading a torrent, possibly onto his workstation onsite for retrieval by USB HDD later, free badwidth anyone?
Interesting stories: how long have u been frequenting this site. GTFO if u want interesting, sheesh...
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I admire your spunk, though.
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Well, I suppose that's what differentiates a "tool" (CVS) from a "tool" (cretin user).
May I once again recommend Stratus/VOS TPS? It's not available on *nix systems, let alone W2K, but it worked like a dream.
Fifteen years ago.
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If you do that here, you lose your access to the source repository.
Admin
Only in America. As far as I am aware, we in Australia are "different to" those in the US. I gather UK residents agree with us.
Admin
Also I don't know about CVS, but in SVN you can't check in without doing an update.
Admin
Definitely. I interviewed at a place not too long ago where they didn't use a revision control system. :(
Now I'm using MKS at a place that at least has the decency to have SOME control system.
And in response to the P4 haters.. I personally liked using P4. Even if you say it is a piece of shit... It was MY piece of shit. I miss you p4. <sniffle>
PS: It's a REVISION CONTROL SYSTEM PEOPLE! Is this really the level we've gone down to... RCS fanboys?
Admin
The company I'm working for decided not to use any version control software. That's because their experience with VSS was... tragic. VSS is the most useless piece of junk I've ever seen. No, wait, it's not useless, it's evil. VSS is the reason why many devels I know are skeptical about source control. When they start trying SVN, for example, they are afraid of checking out / commiting their work. They don't believe that two people can really work on the same project at the same time. Thank you, Microsoft, for making a whole generation afraid of source control, just because you were too fucking lazy to build a decent piece of software.
You know what's funny? Now they're selling Team System, and I've read on their website that "both SourceSafe and Team System are good choices". If Team System is comparable to SourceSafe, then I'm never, ever using Team System.
Admin
I think you misspelled "Commonwealth of Nations". The name "The British Commonwealth" was dropped, believe it or not, almost 60 years ago.
Admin
Not only that, but making a trade at the some time as having to explain yourself to the boss and his team. I dont know about you but I would be trying to fast talk my way out of that - NOT making a stock trade. That can wait until I have finished the meeting. Dont believe this tale.
Admin
I've been frequenting this site since about 2006, I don't believe it's mandatory to make comments on everything to have valid comments for ONE thing.
It wasn't VPN, they saw the mouse moving, ergo it's some sort of remote control client.
If it was a typed example without the real code, how do we know what the real code was?
You then run the risk (in a proper company, naturally) of having your USB HDD inspected. All equipment being taken off/on site is checked and security get very uppity if they find you trying to sneak something out. Maybe it was a valid reason to abuse company resources and risk getting fired; then the question is regarding the cost of his bandwidth vs the cost of his job. If he's as highly paid as was claimed, I can't believe that a few $s/£s of bandwidth cost is worth losing a job and having poor references.
My final comments about interesting were a humorous aside (known on this planet as "A Joke"). Not a very good one, granted, but I was just trying to fit in after all.
Other people have called the same, so I stand by my original comments.
I take my leave of you, sir.
catchpa: distineo
Admin
(In my case, because the developer was at another question and otherwise rather good, I just shouted at them over the phone a time or two. Their boss, a system architect that I really respect, had a word with them and since then they've been great. But I guess I was lucky in that respect.)
Admin
I thought it was par for the course to try and dissect these posts down to the nth level?
What was so wrong about pointing out potential flaws in the story? Yes it was a good story, I read it and felt strongly enough to make a very rare post, so why does that make me a prick?
Still, an interesting insight into the minds of two reasonably hostile people here.
:)
Admin
"Different to" is just as wrong as "similar from".
It's "different from", "similar to" and "same as". Learn your prepositions.
People in the UK often say "different to", but they're wrong and I tell them so.
Admin
Wow. You sound great.
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