Bugs or Not?

Bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs . . .

Is an incomplete feature really a bug? I've been working through the latest version of Right of Way Tract Manager (RTM). For those that don't know I've been working contract for ALDOT the past 18 months and much of that time has been developing tools for Right of Way map and deed management.

The idea is to simplify the workflow. Reduce the steps from Right of Way map to deed description to a minimum with the overall goal to eliminate duplicate data entry. Still not with me? That's ok. Just think that every time a designer types a bearing and direction - in the map, in a property sketch, in a spreadsheet, and then in a deed there are multiple places where data could be entered incorrectly. Turns out all of the information needed is in the map - just need some tools to automate the extraction and presentation of the data. There's an avi on my portfolio page if you're interested.

So, I'm working through the version for MicroStation 2004 and discovering that I've missed a few things that were in the J version. If there's any advice I can give you about migrating code to V8* it's to consider how the previous commands are built. In this case I built both but it was really easy to take to VBA in V8 and blow through the command development. But here's the advice - make sure you use the same cell names and make sure that you build the elements in the same order! Ugg. You'd think I would know better. I'm having to go back and step through all my edit code to make sure that I haven't made some assumption about element order (of course I have) and now I have to suffer the consequences. That is go back through my code and fix it.

Now, if you have no concerns about old drawings (from J) then you don't have to worry about it. But how many of us can say they don't have files from J they want to edit in V8. Yup, I know no one.

So, I'd have to say this is an incomplete feature and not a bug. On the other hand when my users attempt to edit a parcel symbol and the data is displayed in the wrong location what do you think they will call it?