better developers

Wolf Ticket AntiPattern – Not What It Seems

We often look at vendors and standards for a way to improve productivity.  There is nothing wrong with this and it even is a best practice.  However, not everyone follows a standard entirely or even in the same way.  This situation can lead you to a wolf ticket antipattern.  In short, the product you choose is not what it seems. Defining the Wolf Ticket AntiPattern I find the origin of this anti-pattern name to be instrumental in defining it. [Click Here to See The Page] “The term wolf ticket originates from popular slang. In slang, a wolf ticket is an unofficially issued event pass (e.g. for a rock concert) that is sold by unscrupulous ticket scalpers.“ An essential piece of... Read more

develpreneur podcast

Defining The Jumble AntiPattern

In this episode, we tackle a higher form of the Spaghetti Code Anti-Pattern.  While that is a code-level issue, the jumble antipattern shows up in the architecture.  There are almost always going to be horizontal and vertical aspects of a design.  Some facets are specific to the solution while others are common across multiple applications.  When we confuse and tightly couple these aspects then it turns into a jumble Defining the Jumble AntiPattern The C2 wiki makes another appearance as we look into a definition for this anti-pattern. [Click Here to See The Page] “”When horizontal and vertical design elements are intermixed, an unstable architecture results. Vertical design elements are dependent upon the individual application and specific software implementations. Horizontal... Read more

develpreneur podcast

The Input Kludge AntiPattern

It is hard to think of the word “kludge” and anything other than an anti-pattern.  Thus, the input kludge antipattern is an obvious name.  This example of how not to code is focused on the concept of garbage in – garbage out.  When you allow data with questionable quality to enter your system, then it should be no surprise that the solution suffers in quality. Defining the Input Kludge AntiPattern The best definition I found this time around is on the DZone site listed with several other anti-patterns. [Click Here to See The Page] “An input kludge is a type of failure in software (an anti-pattern) where simple user input is not handled properly. This may cause a buffer overflow security hole, issues during... Read more

better developers

The Ambiguous Viewpoint AntiPattern

The ambiguous viewpoint anti-pattern is one that goes to the heart of object-oriented design.  We want to abstract and isolate functionality in a way that follows a pattern of logic.  This goal is often achieved, in part, through segmenting functionality by viewpoint.  Thus, we have the business, data, and view related code grouped in their separate areas. Defining the Ambiguous Viewpoint AntiPattern I found a good explanation of this anti-pattern on a page worth checking out for several others as well. [Click Here to See The Page] “Object-oriented analysis and design  models are often presented without clarifying the viewpoint represented by the model. By default, this models denote an implementation viewpoint that is potentially the least useful. Mixed viewpoints don’t allow... Read more

better developers

Walking Through a Minefield AntiPattern

Velocity is an important part of modern software development.  However, there is also that adage that “speed kills.”  Therefore, we need to strike a balance to avoid the “walking through a minefield’ antipattern.  We have to avoid throwing away quality in our pursuit of quick turn around times. Defining the Walking Through a Minefield AntiPattern In this case, the name of the anti-pattern may be the best description.  However, we can add a little color to it. [Click Here to See The Page] “Walking Through a Mine Field, as the name adequately suggests, is a situation encountered, most often, with software components and products which are not adequately tested and thus have residual bugs. These bugs turn up at critical... Read more

better developers

The Dead End AntiPattern – The Name Says It All

Over the years, we have built tiny up to large systems that provide a launching point for other applications.  These solutions are built on the hard work and ingenuity of those that went before us.  Therefore, we want to take advantage of that work and not have to reinvent the wheel.  When we customize our solutions in a way that breaks our ability to continue to take advantage of a product, we have achieved the dead end antipattern. Defining the Dead End AntiPattern The simplest definition of this anti-pattern may be the best. [Click Here to See The Page] “Direct modification of commercial software or reusable software creates significant maintenance burdens for a software system.“ In short, a dead end... Read more