If you want and make it to be!! Yes, I am not trying to make a humourous statement out here ( You bet I'm! :) )
Let me not start giving you gyan on how to manage your work etc. etc... and straight away get to the point. Here is an example of what I mean -
You are a developer and one of the most boring task could be to support your work with good commenting! I have to prepare a sample application for a web control I have created, now every line I write must accompany with some comment, right! I am trying to show a demo of a Message Box control I had created (Yes, I have :) ) Now just to bring up the box I created a scenario for divide by zero exception and show the same in "My Message Box" (Good Idea!) But now that I am not using a good coding practice to bluntly generate the exception, I must comment it. How do I go about it:
"The following code is not advisable in a real-time scenario. This has potential performance implications, blah blah blah.."
Nah! boring.. Let me make it KISS (Keep It Short Stupid! and what where you thinking ;))
"Disclaimer: Do not try the following four LOCs at home!"
Yes, doesn't this convey what it should. It brings a smile on your face while writing it, and surely would bring a smile to the face of the developer who is trying to use your control and is bored with long steps and comments to start with.
So, you saw the message conveyed what is should have and bought smiles to many faces. However, remember this should not always be the case. Sometimes you need to be serious afterall :| (Must you? :P). This can be implemented while writing documentations or mails, articles as well, use smileys at right point of time and place to bring smiles to readers' face and not with the intentions to mock you reader.
I like to use it more often than not, and surely remember the last point while doing it!
June 17, 2007
Work can be Fun!!
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hmm.. never thought about smilyes while writing comments :), where I tend to stick to serious stuff..
ReplyDeleteBut taking the point a little further, I believe what you said when it comes to giving presentations. Even if you prepare and rehearse for your presentations (most of us do!), it is nice to actually purposely put some anecdotes, some jokes, if you can, remaining in the bounds of the topic you are talking about.. Makes a difference.
Yes, thanks for mentioning that. It ofcourse includes presentations as well in the list.
ReplyDeleteAlso, very true that every actions has its own limits and if you try to overdo something, it becomes boring! (which ofcourse would be the contrary to your intentions).
Comments, again I mention that it was just an example to make my point. What I meant to say is do comment gracefully, but as you insert light ends to your presentations, you can do it for comments as well!
I remember my college days when I used to teach my classmates. It at times became very difficult for me to get my point through, and on that very moments I used to related it to the most funniest/wierdest thing I could imagine of. And guess what, they use to remember the points and write those on the paper(if the question came ofcourse :)). It sure did make the task easier for both of us many a times! :)
So again, fun statements in the middle of something makes you easily remember those!
Oh, did I include teaching into the list! :)
Ideas to break the monotony of our work lives. I think we should compile a list and publish them ;D
ReplyDeleteYeah! Sure we must. We could infact come out with Standards or a Best Practices or maybe a How To.. around it!How does that sound? :P
ReplyDelete