Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 07:35:27 -0700 From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com> To: "Ugen J.S.Antsilevich" <ugen@latte.worldbank.org> Cc: hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ipfw vs ipfilter Message-ID: <14773.840033327@time.cdrom.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:13:59." <Chameleon.840028502.ugen@ugen-tr>
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> Heh:) > Well..intresting enough it always works this way - first ppl take it, then > they screw it and then they say it's bad and take something else. > Thanx guys... With all due respect, Ugen, the code was a filthy mess when you gave it to us and was in absolutely no shape to continue using in that way. It was bad to start with and nobody needed to "screw" anything. If anything it's been substantially improved over the last 6 months or so, but dressing a pig in tuxedo still doesn't change him from being a pig. My advice to you would be that rather than damaging your credibility and reputation by defending it, you should more reasonably be admitting that this code was horrible and yes, it needs a rewrite badly. There's no crime in that, Ugen! Yes, I've written some terrible code myself from time to time, usually in response to an urgent need which required a quick solution, and I've never been shy about admitting it when pointed out to me - in fact, I can generally out-do the complainer in citing exactly how and why it sucks large, deceased rodent carcasses through miles of steel conduit. The work you did on ipfw was very valuable, and many people are very happy that you did it, but was it good, quality work? No, it was not. Did you do a good job of maintaining and improving it? No, you didn't do that, either. In fact you didn't even come close in either category, to be honest. I'm sure that you're a skilled programmer, Ugen, and I'm also sure that some of your best work lies ahead of you, assuming that you get some time and energy to devote to more interesting projects than hacking financial software on the east coast, and there's absolutely no good reason for you to get all defensive about the ipfw code. There are a number of tools of my own which I'd *love* to see replaced, if I or anyone else had the time, and you should not take your software so personally that you're unable to see its failings - you'll never advance as a programmer that way. This is good advice, so please take it. :-) Jordan
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