Reader Feedback and Insights: Don't Do Things On-the-Fly

Hey, Ted:

This may sound like I'm stuck in the mud, but I have always programmed, and been told to program, using documentation throughout. I stick to methods that can be tracked and stay away from doing things "on the fly". After all, when something goes wrong, you need a way to determine what went wrong, how data got destroyed or modified.

When I read an article about the trade-offs between interactive screen driven and "procedurized" processes and "on the fly" methods, in my mind there is no trade-off. I try never to do work on the fly. It's always bad policy.

--Darrell

Thanks for your comments, Darrell. I take it you're responding to the third-from-last paragraph of my comments to John in Understanding the Unix Mindset."

I agree about the need for auditable processes, but there's nothing wrong with on-the-fly methods in certain circumstances, such as creating one-time reports.

--Ted

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