Re: Ninja style coding... is it bad?

[Nkuvu]

I think I'm reading a different meaning than many of the monks posting here, so wanted a little clarification.

When you say that the only trace is through CVS, my assumption is that there was prior indication of a necessary code fix. Maybe it's just that the last place I worked had a whole process on when you want to check something out that's already been reviewed. First, you had to submit a problem report, and then a software lead would approve it and assign it (probably to the person who originated the report, but to someone else if load balancing was necessary). Then whoever is assigned the task gets to check out the file, make changes, check it back in, and submit it for re-review.

So what I was thinking was that once all that hoopla was accomplished, you go in and do your ninja coding. No style changes, trying to make your modifications as close to the original as possible.

However it seems that the majority of the other monks think it's about fixing some code issue without telling anyone. And I'm just not seeing that in the original post. But I admit I may be influenced by too many years of working in an environment that conforms to FAA guidelines.

Am I the only one who is reading it like this?

[Aristotle]

No. I did not see any indication of "fix without telling anyone" either. To me, the question was simply "is it a good or bad thing if I try to always follow the original style of the code so closely that my changes blend right in?"

[thaigrrl]

yup. That would be it right one the button. I actually enjoy perfecting my ninja skills of modification without being noticed.