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Many projects rush the code out and forget about the after effects. Unlike a
hang-over the flash-backs don't go away if you don't design for easy
maintenance.
The difference between easy-to-maintain and hard-to-maintain code is minimal
when you write it. It is huge when you try to maintain it.
I am not a documentation zealot. Instead this section sketches out the minimum
that you can get away with. It tries to balance the trauma that many developers
suffer doing non-code work with the trauma of not doing it.
Standards vary between sites. That is fine, the key is that everyone follows
them. Artists are allowed to interpret what a bolt looks like; engineers are
not. Be an engineer.
Source control is not an option. Even on a single developer project it is
useful, once you have two or more developers it is essential. I have a strong
preference for Visual Source Safe - it is free, easy to use and fully integrated
with VB6.
Documentation is not optional. In many ways a system with out-of-date
documentation is worse than a system with no documentation. A lot of time is
wasted verifying stuff which is rubbish.
Most of the stuff that makes for easy maintenance can be automated. Buy or
build the tools. They do pay for themselves. If the tool requires you to
do the same thing twice, it is not a tool, it is a liability.
I have worked on many projects. Of those that were documented, only one used a tool properly - to make life
easier. The others used the tools to draw pictures badly - what a waste!
Of those projects where documentation was missing or wrong , only one project
made a conscious decision to slip documentation - in order to hit a commercial
deadline. All, that's right, All of those projects which didn't do
documentation regretted it.
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