ThrowawayCoward

Interesting. My description of magic is there because I specifically see two programming-related definitions.

When used with Rails, it's usually derogatory, and it means something like "something tricky or obscure and complex that is done in order to provide an easy interface", and in that sense, it is usually derogatory and used when the someone believes there is a straightforward way that may be an even easier interface, or is at worst, not much more cumbersome than the interface that is presented.

The other definition - the one I used, is, for example, how many developers would answer "How does the Linux syscall mechanism work?" In that case, the syscall interface is very much needed to provide an easy interface, and it's not incredibly complex.

One often seems like the other until you look into it, but I still think they are separate.

The rewrite started a year ago. It's the _fifth_ version of the same product that is only four years old. I joined this project about a month ago, but have been working on a related project and interacting with them for about three years.

I agree that sometimes things have to be fixed now and cleaned later, but it should make you feel a little bit queasy when you do it, and you should be aware that you are adding future work to the project.

I skimmed that link and it looks great, I'll be diving in fully. Since I've seen the posts from others and was leaning that way already, it's likely I won't send it, but I really want to push this project to be better. Since you suggested strategy 6, I read that first, and it's awesome and difficult. Part of being new means that more than a usual amount of my development time is spent understanding the project. I've felt rather unproductive because of this.

Thank you.

I'm new to the project, but not new to the company. My previous role was a project lead, and I interacted with this project on a regular basis. I was brought in to this project to get stuff done because it's very behind and new work is piling up in the future.

I agree that it's too long. If I send it anything at all, it will have to be shorter or in segments. Based on this and other peoples review, I probably won't send it. Still, it helped my identify the issues for myself. There must be ways of getting results without sending this, and I'll continue to consider that as I work with the team.

I suppose I really would like these ideals to be a standard.

Thank you for taking the time to read that novella and to post your thoughts!

Thanks for your review! I'm aware that they are not unique points. They all come either from hard experience or from things I've read from people I respect over the years.

It's not my first programming gig, and as for young, it's relative. I'm in my early thirties. Unfortunately, I am the most senior person there.

I am surprised my writing style would lead anyone to think I'm young. Are there any specifics there? I have taken professional writing courses, but writing is still something I try to improve. I will keep the suggestion of enrolling in one in mind, though!

That particular gramatical error was really a typo. Either way, if I decide to send it at all, I will definitely be proofreading it again. Even though I re-read it once, I missed that one and would probably have missed it every time.

I haven't provided examples for three reasons. First, I'm hoping it prompts discussion. Second, many of what I would include as examples are things that either I or they have pointed out previously. Third, it is already very long; details will bog down the pace. Given those reasons, would examples still help?