I think Amazon may want 8+ years of Programming experience...

Salanmander · 156 points · Posted at 18:23:52 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

The number of times I've seen student code with things like if(x > 3 && x > 5)...

OrrinH · 131 points · Posted at 22:36:10 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

if (x == true)
    return true;
else
    return false

cg2916 · 103 points · Posted at 00:07:58 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)*

Or worse:

if (x == true)
  return true;
else if (x == false)
  return false;

CounterShadowform · 76 points · Posted at 01:51:57 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

#define yes true
if (x == (bool)1 || x == true) return
    yes
    ; else i\
f (x == false && x != !(!yes)) retu\
rn ((((false && false))))
;

walfracar · 59 points · Posted at 03:00:07 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Please make it stop

BinaryBagel · 41 points · Posted at 03:03:29 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

return false;

SlumdogSkillionaire · 22 points · Posted at 04:13:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

return

Because None is falsey.

lengau · 11 points · Posted at 12:00:32 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I had a code reviewer at a previous job who always wanted me to change if X is None to if not x. Which I get if you're actually looking for a falsy value, but not when you specify that the variable is a tristate with possible values of True, False, and None.

Stoic_stone · 2 points · Posted at 14:28:14 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

The whole job was code review?

lengau · 2 points · Posted at 15:21:35 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

No, but when he was reviewing code, he was a code reviewer. When he was writing code, he was a developer and someone else was a code reviewer for him.

KronktheKronk · 1 points · Posted at 17:14:55 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Unless you want your block to run in any case where X != True, because False != None (at least not in python)

lengau · 3 points · Posted at 17:30:56 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Correct, which is what I did in several other places, but this particular guy pretty much always suggested changing 'if x is None' to 'if not x', even in cases where this changed the behaviour of the program.

Another such example was an optional list with a default value. Something like this:

def fun(a, opt=None):
    if opt is None:
        opt = ['blah', 'blah', 'blah', 42]
    # do stuff including mutating opt

This is fine to replace with if not opt if you're either never expecting an empty list or are expecting one but want to replace it with the default list, but in this case the same commit included a call of fun(x, opt=[]) which would have broken things had opt been replaced with the default.

Neo_Techni · 6 points · Posted at 03:26:29 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Name checks out

[deleted] · 5 points · Posted at 10:30:02 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I want to get off r/shittyprogramming's wild ride.

AlumiuN · 3 points · Posted at 04:39:03 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

vomits profusely

bgsavage · 3 points · Posted at 14:07:58 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

My favorite is if(!(x==true)) I've seen it so many times and it's not students, but hired professionals....

Vindicer · 22 points · Posted at 00:37:17 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Now I'm curious if the compiler would just be all:

"Imma fix this."

...and proceed to optimise it to what we all expect:

return x;

Magnnus · 13 points · Posted at 01:43:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Depends on the compiler, but it's an easy enough optimization that most will do.

ojii · 6 points · Posted at 02:36:58 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

that needs an else clause, because what if neither of the if checks go through?

cg2916 · 5 points · Posted at 02:54:51 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

That's part of the fun!

draconk · 1 points · Posted at 11:29:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

well it could be null (also known as maybe on booleans)

Sean1708 · 1 points · Posted at 13:25:55 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

What sort of weird language are you using where a boolean can be null?

draconk · 1 points · Posted at 13:27:24 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

In java you can just do Boolean bool; and is null by default

LondonNoodles · 3 points · Posted at 13:53:36 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

He said "language" not disease.

draconk · 1 points · Posted at 13:56:03 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Savage

[deleted] · 1 points · Posted at 18:13:33 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

The fuck are you using the object type for? That's disgusting

VitulusAureus · 5 points · Posted at 15:22:57 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I have actually seen this somewhere with an extra comment that makes it even crazier:

if (x)
  return true;
// Check again just in case x changed value in the meantime.
else if (!x)
  return false;

And before you ask, this was a single-threaded application with no hardware/DMA interactions. x wasn't even marked as volatile. I have no idea what was the intention.

cg2916 · 1 points · Posted at 17:28:29 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

LMAO. Clearly he was worried about a bit flip in the memory, gotta be doubly sure.

Markyparky56 · 3 points · Posted at 08:46:22 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Maybe they were considering checking for the quantum superstate.

ThePixelCoder · 2 points · Posted at 12:25:11 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

This hurts.

MrMeltJr · 1 points · Posted at 07:52:28 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Take out the else so we can really make sure x isn't false. Gotta double check every time, just in case.

[deleted] · 3 points · Posted at 12:46:56 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Not gonna lie, I did that once.

KronktheKronk · 1 points · Posted at 17:15:57 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

shame.... shame.....shame

Triapod · 2 points · Posted at 12:29:49 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

public class ReturnTrue implements ReturnBool

Moshambi · 30 points · Posted at 04:07:20 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Dude today I saw this in some code I was working with:

if($timestamp >= $current && $timestamp <= $current)

Like wtf...i had to read it like 5 times to make sure I wasn't missing something.

JonnyRichter · 21 points · Posted at 04:32:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

So... If time stamp equals current?

Moshambi · 30 points · Posted at 04:48:06 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Yeah that's what I got out of it too. I fuckin left it though cause who knows what it could fuck up.

2211abir · 12 points · Posted at 13:12:26 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

You're a wise developer.

tastychicken · 7 points · Posted at 13:38:51 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

If it works don't fix it.

lx45803 · 6 points · Posted at 00:36:47 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I wonder if your typical compiler is smart enough to optimize that out. I mean, most optimizations target the weird tricky stuff, not the kind of thing a 5th grader can figure out.

flip314 · 13 points · Posted at 01:21:38 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: there might be some funny stuff if x is declared as volatile, but I'm not even sure about that since it's all in one expression.

Also, most compiler optimizations target really obvious stuff.

Salanmander · 2 points · Posted at 10:38:59 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Would the compiler recognize it if you're in a language where operator overrides are allowed, and the ">" operator has been overridden? Because if not, the value of x could change after each evaluation.

mallardtheduck · 3 points · Posted at 12:33:47 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Yes. Any decent compiler will have replaced the operator with the overloaded function call before applying optimisations.

penguinade · 5 points · Posted at 11:42:53 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

They also love to use arrays. Especially N-dimensional arrays. LOTS OF THEM.

Buttons[0][0][1][2].Width == Buttons[0][0][1][3].Width;

Arancaytar · 3 points · Posted at 12:15:39 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

This is just future proof in case 5 ever becomes smaller than 3.

Mistercheif · 1 points · Posted at 12:44:18 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

#define 5 rand()

Neo_Techni · 5 points · Posted at 03:30:01 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I keep seeing

If($value != "")

Instead of

If($value)

On a site I work on.

Salanmander · 24 points · Posted at 10:37:20 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I'm very okay with this, because I dislike using implicit falseyness. I feel like it's too likely for me to run afoul of some obscure rule I don't know about yet, and makes my code harder to read.

teddy_beer_maniac · 14 points · Posted at 07:01:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

It may be this way, because When converting to boolean, the following values are considered FALSE: the empty string, and the string "0".

devdot · 4 points · Posted at 13:11:13 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Exactly. I always use either isset, empty and != "" because it's more obvious what should happen. I don't give a shit about writing haxxor uber code in PHP, PHP syntax not safe enough to do that. PHP doesn't have C/C++ type of syntax and backwards compatibility thereof.

tastychicken · 1 points · Posted at 13:40:18 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

If there are methods to check for empty strings I tend to use them, I think that's just good practice really, even though it could be prettier.

devdot · 3 points · Posted at 13:49:49 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Yep, code is about readability. I don't get people who want to optimize their PHP. Best optimization of PHP is not using PHP.

tastychicken · 1 points · Posted at 13:57:35 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Optimization is good though, but I seriously doubt using isset, empty etc will have a big impact on your applications performance.

I haven't done PHP in a long while (mostly c# for the moment) but there's a lot of people that want to do weird shit in c# as well because it's "optimized".

There are lots of ways to legitly optimize your code and they chose to fuck up their if/else blocks and other shit.

komtiedanhe · -1 points · Posted at 18:04:47 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

How is 'if ($value != "")' easier to read than 'if ($value)'? What level of coder are you exactly "optimising readability" for that doesn't know the two are the same? Alternatively, what application are you writing where the distinction between null and an empty string really matters?

teddy_beer_maniac · 1 points · Posted at 19:44:21 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Except when they are not the same:

teddybeermaniac@laptop1:~$ php -a
Interactive mode enabled

php > $value = "1";
php > if ($value) { echo "Reddit"; }
Reddit
php > if ($value != "") { echo "Reddit"; }
Reddit
php > $value = "";
php > if ($value) { echo "Reddit"; }
php > if ($value != "") { echo "Reddit"; }
php > $value = "0";
php > if ($value) { echo "Reddit"; }
php > if ($value != "") { echo "Reddit"; }
Reddit

komtiedanhe · 1 points · Posted at 20:16:53 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I know they can be different. I meant the difference is functional, not related to legibility.

[deleted] · 5 points · Posted at 12:20:23 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

What if $value is 0?

isavegas · 1 points · Posted at 16:53:55 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I actively keep an eye open for redundancy when I'm programming. Developed the habit when I was learning Java. It's verbose enough without stuff like that everywhere.

Boiled_Potatoe · 1 points · Posted at 07:57:29 on June 15, 2016 · (Permalink)

...what's wrong with that? What would you do?

Salanmander · 1 points · Posted at 10:39:44 on June 15, 2016 · (Permalink)

Just if(x > 5).

If x is more than 5, then x MUST be more than 3, so you don't need to check it.

Boiled_Potatoe · 1 points · Posted at 10:42:04 on June 15, 2016 · (Permalink)

Oh. I didn't read it well enough. Got it!

mrtwidget · 32 points · Posted at 18:57:16 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

It would seem that the administrative position responsible for this ad does not require quite as many.

[deleted] · 12 points · Posted at 20:57:23 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)*

[deleted]

teefour · 3 points · Posted at 13:42:28 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

They're arbitrary numbers anyway. At the end of the day, they'll likely hire the most experienced person they can get for the salary budget they set.

Astrokiwi · 19 points · Posted at 11:25:33 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)*

I notice there's a gap between the top few points and the bottom ones - I wonder if it was supposed to be "required skills" as the top, and "desired skills" at the bottom, but they left out the line of text that explained that.

Edit: The top skills look like really baseline stuff - you basically just need experience in any OO language, plus all the web fundamentals of HTML etc - while the bottom stuff is more specific. I'm not even a web developer, and I satisfy most of the top criteria. But I don't really even know what REST and SOAP are...

devdot · 6 points · Posted at 13:17:27 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

The guy who made this page probably had only 3+ years of experience.

Guerilla_Imp · 1 points · Posted at 15:12:26 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

If you look at the rest of the openings I am pretty sure that is the case.

ShowMeYourTiddles · 12 points · Posted at 00:17:59 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

var yearsOfExperience = buzz * 2;

LondonNoodles · 7 points · Posted at 13:21:27 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I never understand the point of putting down things like "must be able to work in a fast paced environment" or "passion for building a rich and innovative user experience".

Are they really some applicants who read this and think

"Oh no, I was dreaming to work for them, but I am only able to work in a lazy-ass environment, and I only enjoy building poor and old school user experience. Oh well, I'll keep job hunting until I find the right one!"

🎙️ PDX_Bro · 11 points · Posted at 18:07:37 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

This was found in this job listing on StackOverflow. No prefacing separations between these two requirements at all haha.

Looks like their hiring department may have a copy + paste issue...

tsoliman · 15 points · Posted at 23:35:49 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

I think maybe it was 2 separate lists like minimum vs recommended and that got lost.

rcenzo · 5 points · Posted at 10:31:30 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

It's just 5+ years. He's only reassigning the variable, right?

vanamerongen · 6 points · Posted at 11:58:20 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I mean I guess 5+ years is still technically 3+ years as well.

repooper · 4 points · Posted at 04:00:05 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

React, Angular, and JQuery are AJAX libraries? Or do I not know how to read?

jsdsparky · 3 points · Posted at 04:32:14 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Why not both?

JamesonG42 · 6 points · Posted at 10:27:49 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Why not Zoidberg?

A-Type · 2 points · Posted at 12:51:41 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

I think you could parse it as

Experience developing AJAX interfaces with { AJAX libraries (<no examples given>) and [JavaScript] frameworks (<JavaScript framework examples given>) }

Either way I'm not sure what they mean by that, even as a fullstack dev. You want to know if I can... make AJAX requests from a JavaScript client? Define a client-server API? Roll my own AJAX tools?

SilasX · 3 points · Posted at 21:25:03 on June 9, 2016 · (Permalink)

That's a test of whether you can notice and simplify logical expressions, duh.

Darkitz · 4 points · Posted at 10:21:33 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

i understand that companies want programming experience. Because when studying computerscience you learn jackshit about programming

8BitAce · 5 points · Posted at 11:03:38 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Well ya, CS isn't really about programming. That's just a component.

[deleted] · 5 points · Posted at 10:37:40 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Depends on the University, but overall I'd tend to agree. In four months at a software company I learned much more about programming than in 3 years studying CS.

Magical_Gravy · 1 points · Posted at 12:46:15 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

What do you learn?

Darkitz · 2 points · Posted at 12:52:48 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

projectcontrolling, designbasics. hardwarestuff, documentation, uml. Ofcourse theres some java and c. pure c is only really 1/36 of a bachelors degree and java is about 5/36. webdevelopment: another 1/36.

If you like programming you better not study computerscience.

^{^{^it}} ^{^{^makes}} ^{^{^me}} ^{^{^wanna}} ^{^{^kill}} ^{^{^myself}} ^{^{^:(}}

parenthesis-bot · 7 points · Posted at 12:53:36 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

This is an autogenerated response. source | /u/HugoNikanor

trentv4 · 1 points · Posted at 14:17:50 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Aww, good bot

Magical_Gravy · 1 points · Posted at 13:02:08 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Don't you do a programming project? Or like a group project?

Darkitz · 1 points · Posted at 13:12:50 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

yea the bachelor project is a semester after all the courses. But it doesnt really need to have any programming effort in it.

Magical_Gravy · 1 points · Posted at 13:13:47 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Well...piss.

tastychicken · 1 points · Posted at 13:43:28 on June 10, 2016 · (Permalink)

Then again, all those things are stuff that really helps you when actually develop stuff.

I started with spaghetti coding as a hobby and finally got "experienced" enough to get an actual job as a developer.

I still sometimes stumble upon things CS students learn and I'm like "whoa, that's pretty useful, why haven't I done that yet?".