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Itsallcode Blog

Improving Test Coverage in log Message

Log message test coverage for the java.util.logging.Logger depends on the log level by default. As an optimization the lambda functions that constitute log messages are only executed if the configured log level is higher or equal the log message level.

In effect this means that for optimum test coverage you would have to set the log level to FINEST for your unit tests. But that will spam your console or log files.

Release letters – useful for users but a coupling nightmare for developers

Release letters are useful. No doubt about that.

They are the go-to place for users who want to know what’s new in a software release.

Granted that information is already available in your projects ticket system, but you can’t expect your users to dig through tickets just to be up-to-date.

So you duplicate information. Which is unsatisfying because it creates coupling:

  • You copy information from the features and bug fixes from the tickets
  • You add links to the ticket system
  • You copy the version number
  • and you should not forget to enter the right release date shortly before you release

In some of our commercial projects we had this process automated to a high degree. The only thing really missing was translating the tech talk from the tickets into short descriptions that are helpful for your users.

OFT Specifications as PDF

PDFs are a fixed-size document format, which means that they made more sense in the days when PCs all had about the same video resolutions and screen geometries. But even then, they were never perfect for displaying them on a screen because most are in portrait mode and monitors rarely were. Nowadays, displays especially in mobile devices come in all shapes and sizes, so fixed-size formats are even more obsolete.

And This is why we Can’t Have Nice Things

The option to allow anyone to register to your WordPress blog is basically useless and should be removed. The reason why I am saying this is that once the automated spambots find your blog, they start registering users in the hopes of using your blog as a spam distribution platform.

You can use CAPTCHAs as a gatekeeper to your registration dialogs. But the fact alone that this is necessary angers me. Just because a bunch of rightfully underpaid software engineering dropouts thinks it is a good idea to support the spam industry, the rest of us have a harder and harder time using the Internet for something useful.