My first real life project - fresh out of college - converted data from a 9-track tape into the company's database program. Each record contained 1,200 fields. And every tape had all of the previously loaded data. You read that correctly. The tapes were cumulative.
I finished the project and learned a lot about file processing. Called our client, asked about delivery. He was not sure either. He said to call the data processing center. The center had no idea who my company was or how we could deliver our software. My supervisor was just as perplexed as I.
As we walked down the hall, I happened to glance at the installation schedule white board. There was my client's name - a month out. They did not even have our product yet! No wonder those poor people were confused by my questions.
Assumptions
We make assumptions about the world around us every day. You assume that gravity works. You assume that the hamburger the waitress brought for lunch is really hamburger. This is a normal and healthy part of our lives.Remember the first rule of programming: Theory and reality never match. And its corollary: My theory's right, reality needs to be fixed. At least, that's how we behave.
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