• Frist (unregistered)

    Anty-frist

  • Quite (unregistered)

    Yeah, that's how it's done here, he mentioned casually. Except you have to remember to build the classes manually, then zip them up into a zip file which you do by navigating to the appropriate location using Windows Explorer, which our build process copies to the build location and unpacks.

  • (nodebb) in reply to Quite

    That reminds me of the build process at a former employer. RCS checkout, edit file, run script to check in. Files checked in were gathered by a semi-manual process and committed to permanent version control.

    Well, except when ...

    The individual responsible for the semi-manual process (that is, the guy who did the manual part each week) swore blind that it was too complicated to convert into a fully-automatic process, and that the occasions when he fonked up and reverted your commit with even trying to consult you (he sat about twenty feet from me, but still didn't try to contact me) were regarded as just a price you have to pay.

    He eventually left for a different job, and one of the first things his successor did was automate the process.

  • "Drummer" (unregistered)

    You know what I'd like to see more? A Panty pattern.

  • ApoY2k (unregistered)

    Why is ant TRWTF? It's a neat tool, isn't it? What else would you use?

  • my name is missing (unregistered)

    "If it compiles ship it".

  • hangy (unregistered) in reply to my name is missing

    Release early, release often! 😉

  • TheCPUWizard (unregistered)

    OK, if this was 1985, the situation might be "normal".... But Why the ? is anyone doing this today?

  • Chronomium (unregistered)

    This smells like development was originally done by one single guy and the process was never changed when more people started coming in.

  • MiserableOldGit (unregistered) in reply to my name is missing
    "If it compiles ship it".
    That's called a test plan most places I've been.
  • Joseph Osako, Jr. (github)

    Remember Scott Slocum and his company? Yeah, the 'process' there was:

    • Get a copy of the current build. This usually meant copying it over the network from the lead dev's workstation. If you remembered to, and could be bothered to. Otherwise, just go with the one you worked on last, surely nothing could have been changed by someone else, right?
    • Make your code change. Remember how I said that Dave The Dev was addicted to copypasta coding and code by exception? Well, I hope you remembered to check to see if there are any variations on the code you just debugged elsewhere in the codebase. You might just find all of them, if your lucky.
    • WE WILL TEST NO SOFTWARE BEFORE IT SHIPS! So quick, burn that CD, slap a paper label on it and write the time and date on it, that's your bug tracking.
    • ???
    • DON'T PROFIT!
  • Darren A (unregistered)

    I took over a project from Kack Gemini once. The build was:

    • Open project on your laptop
    • Grab latest from SourceSafe
    • Compile
    • Repeat for all 35 modules
    • Copy resulting EXEs, DLLs and OCXs to a folder (a VB6 app in the mid noughties...)
    • Open InstallShield (the free trial version)
    • Create the build
    • Burn to a CD
    • Walk round each machine (all 250) and install the software

    My solution

    • Buy proper version of InstallShield
    • Setup a build server
    • Automate all compilation
    • Automate build
    • Build unattended install
    • Schedule through Group Policy

    Oh - and add some testing and bug trucking And a test server. And a dev server.

    Then quickly retire the system and replace with something a little more functional that didn't look like it was written by a CS graduate with colour blindness and mental health issues.

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to Darren A

    Hey, I resemble that remark - you insensitive clod!

    In my defense, I do warn my project managers that they probably do not want a color blind developer lacking any artistic skill doing the graphical design.

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    Uh, guys? This is what build systems are for.

  • sh_code (unregistered)

    that's... JARringly stupid.

  • Quite (unregistered) in reply to Anon

    ... although having a colorblind developer on the team can be quite useful for checking for usability.

    "So when it says "click the red button for x, and the orange button for y, and the blue button for z, and the purple button for w ... er, which is which again?"

  • Barf4Eva (unregistered) in reply to "Drummer"

    Isn't service locator a panty pattern??

  • jimshatt (unregistered)

    "The code was built using Ant" No, it wasn't. It was built using Eclipse. It was packaged using Ant, apparently. Different things.

Leave a comment on “The Anty Pattern”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article