TCL and not fixing bugs

A blast from the past with the language TCL and a nice explanation why some bugs just don’t get fixed.

The Tcl Programming Language: A Comprehensive Guide

I used TCL back in about 1995 and haven’t used it since but it is nice to reminisce.

I was developing a GUI front end for the world’s first self service terminal for issuing and returning library books. Someone could use the touch screen and a built in scanner to take out books and then return them.

We integrated a TCL interpreter into our code and extended it for some UI components so it acted as the glue for putting all the components together on the screen. We also used it to integrate a Renderware library to provide a 3d model of a library but that was a whole different challenge.

I’m not sure I would say I was a fan of it but it seemed to work - so I don’t think I will be purchasing the book.

Why Companies Don’t Fix Bugs

A nice walk-through of how a bug can get lost in the noise of the backlog and even if it is an “easy” fix it may never be fixed. It is very easy to capture an issue and it enters the “underworld” of the backlog, never to be seen again as there is always higher priority work to be done.

We are looking to try and address this on our front-end team by employing someone who will focus mostly on those smaller pain points - the stuff that would normally get lost. I’m not sure how it will go but it will be interesting to see what impact it has.

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