The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

Base-36 Conversion

by Remy Porter in CodeSOD on 2023-06-08

Johannes needed to convert some data from Base-36. A helpful peer offered this solution, which… works.

int getBase36(char c) {
        std::map<char, int> b36;
       
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '0', 0 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '1', 1 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '2', 2 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '3', 3 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '4', 4 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '5', 5 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '6', 6 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '7', 7 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '8', 8 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( '9', 9 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'a', 10 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'b', 11 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'c', 12 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'd', 13 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'e', 14 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'f', 15 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'g', 16 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'h', 17 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'i', 18 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'j', 19 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'k', 20 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'l', 21 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'm', 22 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'n', 23 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'o', 24 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'p', 25 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'q', 26 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'r', 27 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 's', 28 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 't', 29 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'u', 30 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'v', 31 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'w', 32 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'x', 33 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'y', 34 );
        b36.insert(std::pair<char, int>( 'z', 35 );
       
        return b36.find(c)->second;
}

24 comments - Last comment @ 04:56

Copy Serialization

by Remy Porter in CodeSOD on 2023-06-07

Twenty years ago, Stefano Z was a lowly junior developer, working with a set of senior developers, who had rules. A lowly junior developer, for example, couldn't be trusted to do something risky and dangerous, like serialize data to a buffer. Not without a safe API to keep them from foot-gunning themselves.

The API interface went thus:

43 comments - Last comment @ 06:31

Weakly Miles Calculation

by Remy Porter in CodeSOD on 2023-06-05

Emma found a function called get_mileage_per_year. The purpose of the function is to apply some business rules around travel expenses, and while I'm sure it does that… it also makes some choices.

def get_mileage_per_year(self):
    # Mileage not set yet
    if not self.mileage_per_day:
        return 0

    weekly_miles = self.mileage_per_day

    extra_miles = 60 - self.mileage_per_day if self.purposes == ["special"] else 25

    # Add in extra miles for 'special' purpose is selected

    weekly_miles += extra_miles if "special" in self.purposes else 0

    #   where average daily miles are given by the weekly miles variable
    annual_miles = (weekly_miles * 365) + 2000
    if "special" in self.purposes:
        annual_miles = max(annual_miles, 24000)

    # Return annual miles bound to range 4,000 < mileage < 50,000
    mileage = int(min(max(annual_miles, 4000), 50000))
    return mileage

22 comments - Last comment @ 2023-06-08

The Delete Procedure

by Remy Porter in CodeSOD on 2023-06-01

Daniel recently found this pair of stored procedures. While the code within them is simple, they hint at horrors just beyond the edge of the stage, the kinds of things that might drive one mad.

CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_SomeProc]
@ID       VARCHAR(6)

AS

IF @ID = '109369'
        BEGIN
                DELETE FROM table1
                WHERE ID = '109369'
        END
IF @ID = '100976'
        BEGIN
                DELETE FROM table1
                WHERE ID = '100976'
        END
GO

CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_SomeOtherProc]
@ID       VARCHAR(6)

AS

IF @ID = '109369'
        BEGIN
                DELETE FROM table2
                WHERE ID = '109369'
        END
IF @ID = '100976'
        BEGIN
                DELETE FROM table2
                WHERE ID = '100976'
        END
GO

19 comments - Last comment @ 2023-06-05

Recent CodeSOD

Base-36 Conversion

Copy Serialization

Weakly Miles Calculation

The Delete Procedure