Interesting to some; boring to others.

Thinking of refactoring some code?

2010-08-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

If you've spent any time at all coding on an older application, perhaps as part of a large, distributed team, you'll likely be very familiar with the concept of "refactoring code". None the less, for those not familiar with the term, here is one particularly succinct definition that I personally feel encapsulates the goal of the process perfectly.

To rewrite existing source code in order to improve its readability, reusability or structure without affecting its meaning or behavior.

Without doubt, there are a great many benefits to refactoring code, particularly the older, less elegant code in a given application. However, it goes without saying that there are a number of additional points to consider before embarking on a significant refactor project.

You should only attempt a refactor when your project/milestone timescales allow. There are often complications associated with some refactor projects, so be sure that your project can accommodate the additional workload -- both in terms of development and the additional QA time.
If you are going to refactor code, you will likely need to increase your developer testing effort to ensure that the changes have not adversely affected existing functionality.
If you are planning a large-scale refactor, try to make the changes on a project where significant testing and regression budgets have been set aside.
Where at all possible, try to keep your refactor separate from functional changes. This helps significantly in communicating the details of the refactor versus functional/feature changes during code review and when looking back at the history in the milestone.
Due to the sheer scale of some applications, the scope of the functional items covered in regression often changes; regression also does not necessarily cover all features of an application. Therefore, it is not a given that QA team regression will pick-up on items affected by a refactor and it is a developers responsibility to call out specifically affected items to QA prior to the regression testing.

And finally, no matter how much developer/QA testing we go through, a large refactor will inevitably generate additional errors/problems for the rest of the team. If we want engineers to refactor and improve the codebase, and we absolutely do, we must accept that there will be potential fallout and be prepared to help fix any issues that come to light.

Happy refactoring!

Past, present, future.

2010-08-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Other than a somewhat typical "I'm thinking of blogging again" post the other day, it's been more than eighteen months since the last "regular" post to my blog. It's certainly not unusual. In fact, I stopped Tweeting and Facebooking around that time too.

If I recall correctly, my last post was in December 2008, just after the neighbors garage burst into flames and I had to call the fire brigade. I certainly don't recall that incident as some defining moment where I pondered the futility of publishing random writings on the Internet; it was just my last post.

A fair bit has happened since then, with the vast majority of that time being consumed by work and travel. Of course, I am somewhat horrified at just how quickly time has passed; nothing troubles me more right now than the speed at which life is rushing by. I am sure this has been exasperated with the passing of my 40th birthday in April this year. Note "passing" and not "celebrating"–I really can't think of anything positive to say about turning forty this year. In fact, let's change subjects...

On the work front, as avid followers of everything "me", you'll recall that in March of 2008, I took a job with Slide, Inc. Up until Friday, I was working at Slide as an Engineering Manager on the Superpoke Pets team, where I had the pleasure of working with some really great guys, both personally and professionally. As things stand, following Google's acquisition of Slide, I am now officially a "Member of Technical Staff" at Google, of which I am reassured is a very prestigious role!

It goes without saying that I am super-excited at the opportunity to work at Google and look forward to becoming a valued member of their growing team.

Individually, my overall engineering knowledge has grown substantially while working at Slide, Inc., and I now spend the vast majority of my time reviewing, writing and architecting code in our server tier using Python. I also like to think that my twenty years of management experience has helped to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Slide's engineering operation; something I hope to continue at Google.

On the family front, James and Katy remain a constant source of wonder to me; they really are turning out to be wonderful human beings. They never cease to amaze with their perfect balance of childishness and maturity, finding just the right time to let one or the other bubble to the surface. They are currently enjoying a summer vacation in Spain with their mum, and from what I hear, they seem to be having a great time!

And last, but by no means least, I am still blessed to have Joelle in my life. She continues to love and support me through these tumultuous times, and I am very excited for our future together.

Google packet... pour moi?

2010-08-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

... well that's a keeper!

Order Status: Shipped

2010-08-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Your order was shipped on 08/04/2010. The estimated delivery date is 08/11/2010.

W00T.

It's like winter today...

2010-08-04T06:54:00.001-07:00

... cold and damp, almost feels like England!

Finally ordered a new PC

2010-07-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

I finally ordered a new PC today to replace my aging, multi-partitioned desktop. It's another Dell, of course; despite all the research into other computers/brands etc., I am a convenience shopper at heart, and Dell make it easy.

I've gone for an AMD spec machine this time though, powered by a Phenom II X6 1055T, running at 2.8GHz with a 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5770 video card. Memory is 4GB of DDR3 running at 1333MHz.

All in all, much more than I need... but it should provide for a few years of "future proofing", given that I only really intend to play one game.

The game.

The only game.

Sorry Joelle, it looks as though you could soon be battling for my attention with some trampy little Night Elf!

Happy!!

2010-07-24T05:50:00.001-07:00

... and gorgeous too!

Pointless I know...

2010-07-23T16:05:00.003-07:00

... but I am thinking of starting up my blog again. As always, I feel like there are things I want to say, and as usual, I am sure the vast majority of it will go largely unnoticed (this is likely a good thing).

We'll see. Try to contain yourselves in the mean time...

Fire!!

2008-12-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

Neighbors garage caught fire last night. 10 more minutes and they'd
have lost the house too... man, that thing went up so fast!!

Another shot.

2008-11-14T19:33:00.001-08:00

Views from our office roof.

2008-11-14T19:32:00.001-08:00

Beautiful day today... just gorgeous.

'smine...get ur own bag asshole.

2008-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

I can haz plastic bag?

2008-11-09T16:45:00.001-08:00

Perfect, as ever!

2008-11-07T13:31:00.001-08:00

Coffee at Blue Bottle...

Unofficial team photo

2008-11-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

Full time

2008-11-02T08:06:00.001-08:00

James' football--half-time talk.

2008-11-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

1-pack, fully charged.

2008-11-02T03:39:00.001-08:00

Fuel for my 1-pack

2008-11-02T03:38:00.001-08:00

Real moniez

2008-11-02T02:11:00.000-08:00

Oscar, drunk and bored with the TV selection.

2008-11-01T04:09:00.001-07:00

Mum's house...

2008-10-31T07:00:00.001-07:00

Mum's road...

2008-10-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

Lunch!!

2008-10-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Walking past the candy store.

2008-10-30T11:34:00.002-07:00

Katy and I at the shops.

2008-10-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

Incoming!!

2008-10-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Snow!!!

2008-10-29T07:11:00.001-07:00

Poppy... old, but still cute.

2008-10-29T04:03:00.001-07:00

Nor the fire engine!!

2008-10-29T02:42:00.001-07:00

Hovercraft not seeing much use of late!

2008-10-29T02:41:00.001-07:00

What's she looking for?

2008-10-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

And I thought he didn't exist!

2008-10-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

Gigantor out and about.

2008-10-29T01:41:00.001-07:00

A cold start

2008-10-29T01:39:00.000-07:00

Puppy is sleepy...bless!

2008-10-28T15:55:00.001-07:00

She's a big girl!!

2008-10-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

My brother-in-law and Gem!

2008-10-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Mum's new hat!!!

2008-10-28T06:33:00.001-07:00

Chips...not fries--chips!

2008-10-28T06:27:00.001-07:00

St. Albans high street.

2008-10-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Quiet today...no market.

W00t...XL capuccino!!

2008-10-28T06:24:00.001-07:00

Coffee in town with the kids.

2008-10-28T06:23:00.001-07:00

Out for dinner with the kids

2008-10-27T19:06:00.001-07:00

My car in the UK

2008-10-27T19:05:00.001-07:00

The green machine...

Family dinner

2008-10-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

Roast chicken dinner!!

2008-10-26T09:44:00.001-07:00

Now that's "Bangers n mash"!!

2008-10-25T08:12:00.001-07:00

Blast from the past!!

2008-10-25T04:31:00.001-07:00

This is where I used to get my hair cut in mah teens. Got it cut there
again today, age 38. Same guy... some things never change!

Kids enjoying it too..

2008-10-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

Portion 1 of n

2008-10-24T11:38:00.001-07:00

Lamb curry is nearly ready...

2008-10-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

A new Artios lager...very drinkable.

2008-10-24T10:47:00.001-07:00

Katy's new slippers!!

2008-10-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

We're off!!

2008-10-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

My carriage has arrived!!

2008-10-23T15:09:00.001-07:00

Breakfast is served!!

2008-10-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

The view on the Embarcadero...

2008-10-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

Around 9am... I cycle past it every day and never think to stop and
capture the wonderful view.

Busy day on the BART

2008-10-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

2 hour commute :/

Sent from my iPhone

Interviewee breakdances to get job!

2008-10-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

No ... not an engineering position. Ahem.

AT&T ballpark...

2008-10-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Beautiful day too...

Fat cone lounging while I work.

2008-10-06T10:36:00.001-07:00

Paul is WFH for a couple of days

2008-10-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Not too shabby and a constant supply of rocket fuel... schveet!

I can haz pee here?

2008-10-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently not!!

Bloxor Man...defender of everything Top Friends!!

2008-10-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Blue Bottle coffee... Very, very good!

2008-10-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

Gray start to the day in the city

2008-10-02T09:47:00.001-07:00

Jason

2008-09-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Peter

2008-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

My new station!

2008-09-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

I can has window... yes I can!

I like this shot.

2008-09-28T08:08:00.001-07:00

Artsy shots of the ocean...

2008-09-28T08:07:00.001-07:00

Into the sun...

2008-09-28T08:06:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

Awe...don't we look sweet!

2008-09-28T08:05:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

Cute in Santa Cruz!

2008-09-28T08:04:00.001-07:00

Slide happy hour!

2008-09-26T20:46:00.001-07:00

Not much of a picture, I know. And I missed Tony's body-shot off KHO.
Dang! Happy 21st Kevin!

I can haz more Gyros? Absolutely...

2008-09-26T14:23:00.001-07:00

Third coffee of the day!

2008-09-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

I iz gonna be wired :/

Packed and ready to go!

2008-09-26T08:54:00.001-07:00

Took all of 2 minutes!!

OMB, Tyler owns a bike!

2008-09-25T17:32:00.001-07:00

It may be French, have flat tires and sat in the same spot for 18 months--but it's still a bike!

Moey...the office cutie!!

2008-09-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

You may have to tilt your head for this one!

I could do with one of these for sure!

2008-09-25T10:52:00.001-07:00

One of the many corporate reads I see on the train...

2008-09-25T09:38:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful morning in Lafayette

2008-09-25T08:44:00.001-07:00

Donuts in the kitchen and I took a pear...what's wrong with me!!!

2008-09-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Err...yum :/

Busy night on the Bart :/

2008-09-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

My iPhone wallpaper for today.

2008-09-22T08:55:00.001-07:00

This is just the nicest photo of my dad...makes me feel good inside when I see it. Love you pops!

The day starts with me and the bike on the train.

2008-09-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Tres hard to type while riding the Bart!

Coding on a Sunday is thirsty work!

2008-09-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

Die IE6... just die already!

2008-09-21T15:10:00.001-07:00

One line of code too far for IE6...she was playing so nicely until then too :(

I've actually run into this error before and a little poking around reminded me that you can't append to the BODY element from script that isn't a direct child to the BODY element. Appending to an alternate, closed element in the DOM solves the issue for me. You could also have moved the script execution to outside the body or executed it when the BODY tag is closed.

Nike came too...

2008-09-21T10:10:00.001-07:00

Walking at Lafayette reservoir.

2008-09-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

Cloudy, but getting warmer...

I can haz waffle cone? Apparently not!!

2008-09-20T19:34:00.001-07:00

It's da filth...

2008-09-20T18:39:00.001-07:00

Must have known I was coming!

Just me here today...very quiet.

2008-09-20T15:39:00.001-07:00

Nice day in the city...

2008-09-20T13:42:00.001-07:00

Waiting for the Bart at Lafayette station.

2008-09-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

Memorial to the US soldiers lost in the Iraq war. Count to date 4733.

She can haz stuffed Portobello mushroom? Yes she can!!

2008-09-20T12:26:00.001-07:00

I can haz Gyros? Yes I can!!

2008-09-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

Nice boots!

2008-09-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Another part of Joelle that's always fun to see!