Rant: My rush to finish a Python script backfired big time

I tried to code a simple data parser in one evening without planning. When it crashed on real data, I spent a week rewriting it from scratch. What's your take on rushing through coding tasks?

4 comments

4 Comments

jade_murray1mo ago

Last month I tried to skip writing tests for a small automation script. It worked on my sample file, but then it silently corrupted fifty client records because of a weird date format. That two hour time save turned into three full days of cleanup and apologies. Now I force myself to sketch logic with plain English comments before any real code, even when I'm in a hurry. It feels slow but actually prevents those multi-day rewrite disasters.

thomas.eva1mo ago

I was just reading this old coding book called Code Complete that says writing things out in plain words first is one of the best habits you can have. @jade_murray, your story is a perfect real life example of why that advice is so true. It really does save you from the worst kind of fixes.

kevint471mo ago

Ever notice how the biggest household messes happen when we rush a "five minute" repair job? That same "save time now, pay later" math hits EVERYTHING.

wendyd261mo ago

But what if the quick fix actually works and you save all that time?