Peoplesoft and SQR

Most programs are sprinkled with literal values; 11, ‘USA’, ‘01-JUL-2007′, etc.  Sometimes we can guess their meanings from context. Continue reading ‘SQR Without Literals’ »

What do compilers expect of the programs we create? Our programs should follow the syntax of the language and observe the practical limits of the compiler.

What do our customers and managers expect of the programs we create? Our programs should be created and available in a reasonable amount of time. Our programs should perform the operations described in the functional specification completely, accurately, and within a reasonable time. They should not have any undesirable side effects (e.g. don’t drop the database table while printing a report). They should be reliable (e.g. bugs should be rare). Continue reading ‘SQR Programming Standards’ »

The term “log file” implies that this file serves as a log; a diary; a record of significant events in the program. It’s a place for unofficial information or information about this instance of this program, not to be stored in the organization’s production database for widespread access and not to be printed in reports for the system’s customers. It’s information for the technical team to use for troubleshooting or analysis. Continue reading ‘4 Building Blocks Of SQR Log Files’ »

Well chosen variable names are crucial for understanding what a program is doing.  I plan to write about naming well but for now, it’s more fun to criticize bad variable names. Continue reading ‘Bottom #Ten Worst Variable Names’ »