[MUD-Dev] Starting out.

[Edward Glowacki]

Quoted from Joel Palmtag on Tue, Jan 08, 2002 at 02:31:07PM -0800:

> well.)  How to take care of Marathon Coding, what kind of foods to
> eat (it's really hard to stay alert if all you've been eating are
> snack foods for 18 hours),

Personal recommendation: Avoid Marathon Coding.

Any time you're coding (or doing anything for that matter) while not
really alert, chances are you'll miss stuff or make mistakes.  If
for some reason there is no choice but to put in a few 18hour days
[1], go *out* and spend an hour (or half hour at least) getting
*real* food halfway through.  Not only is the nutritional value
better, your eyes get a break from the CRT, your butt gets a break
from the seat, and you get a chance to recover mentally so you can
push on through the second half of your "Marathon Coding" session.

One article worth reading is "They Write the Right Stuff"

  http://www.fastcompany.com/online/06/writestuff.html

It's about the development team that writes software for the Space
Shuttle and how they produce such good code.  Of particular note
(quoted from the article):
    
    "It's strictly an 8-to-5 kind of place -- there are late nights,
    but they're the exception."

> When one is starting work on a project such as a MUD what are some
> personal recommendations?  I've always had issues with working on
> long coding projects and here are a few of my questions:

> (some starters, if you've got other's, please respond with those
> as well.)

Other "Good Things(TM)" to do with a project are:

    Design your software before you write your code
    Document how the system functions, and keep the doc updated
    Use revision control (which you already mentioned)
    Make regular off-site backups (and test that they work)
    Test the system on "real users" frequently, especially the UI
    Build the system for easy maintainance and expansion
    Comment your code, and keep the comments updated and accurate
    Build an automated test suite    

These are just some of the things involved with a large project,
there are certainly a lot more.

[1] If you're putting in 18 hour days on a regular basis for any
extended length of time, reevaluate your situation... There is more
to life than coding.

ED

--
Edward Glowacki			glowack2 at msu.edu
Michigan State University	
"...a partial solution to the right problem is better than a complete
solution to the wrong one." (http://uiweb.com/issues/issue14.htm)

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