Wasting time
I've spent most of today trying to work out what was going through some anonymous code-monkey's head when they built a certain research and development website I'm now webmaster for. Without much success I have to add.
I like the idea of being a webmaster. It has a slightly cool-geek image to it, although the reality is nothing like as glamorous. Glorified secretary would be a better description. But this site has really started to screw with my head. There are no comments in the code at all and the whole thing has been gratuitously split up in a half-hearted attempt to make it object-oriented, which just means that it's impossible to understand what's going on most of the time.
Normally this wouldn't bother me. I've got direct access to the database behind the site so I can do my job. But whatever bizarre coding skills my predecessor had, he couldn't spell for toffee. The whole thing is peppered with typos, and since it's meant to be used by senior figures in the Welsh Assembly, Professors of Animal Science and other luminaries, I feel that I have to make an attempt to correct the worst of them.
The problem is I can't find the actual words in the mystery maze of code, includes, requires and variable references. Some of them are in the database, but a lot of them aren't. They've got to be somewhere. I just don't know where.
So, instead of writing anything today, I've been scanning endless lines of PHP. Now my head hurts and it's time to go to Welsh class.
At least I get paid for this shit.
I like the idea of being a webmaster. It has a slightly cool-geek image to it, although the reality is nothing like as glamorous. Glorified secretary would be a better description. But this site has really started to screw with my head. There are no comments in the code at all and the whole thing has been gratuitously split up in a half-hearted attempt to make it object-oriented, which just means that it's impossible to understand what's going on most of the time.
Normally this wouldn't bother me. I've got direct access to the database behind the site so I can do my job. But whatever bizarre coding skills my predecessor had, he couldn't spell for toffee. The whole thing is peppered with typos, and since it's meant to be used by senior figures in the Welsh Assembly, Professors of Animal Science and other luminaries, I feel that I have to make an attempt to correct the worst of them.
The problem is I can't find the actual words in the mystery maze of code, includes, requires and variable references. Some of them are in the database, but a lot of them aren't. They've got to be somewhere. I just don't know where.
So, instead of writing anything today, I've been scanning endless lines of PHP. Now my head hurts and it's time to go to Welsh class.
At least I get paid for this shit.
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