Here's some pseudocode that got added to a production system that might just be the very definition of a simple change:
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Add a link from one page to cancel_order.cfm?orderID=12345
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In that new page, add the following two queries:
- update orders set canceled = 1, canceledOn=getDate() where orderID=#url.orderID#
- delete from orderItems
Now, upload those changes to the production server, and run it real quick to be sure it does what you meant it to do.
Then you say to yourself, "Wait, why is the page taking several seconds to load?"
"Holy $%^@," you think aloud, "I just deleted every item from every order in the system!"
It's easy enough for you to recover the data from the backups. It isn't quite as easy to recover from the heart attack.
Steve McConnell (among others) says that
the easiest changes are the most important ones to test, as you aren't thinking quite as hard about it when you make them.
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Anyone testing code changes directly in a prod environment needs to be terminated. That's what dev is for. I cringe every time I hear of someone monkeying with code in production.
Posted by
Brandon Ellis
on Dec 10, 2007 at 12:56 PM UTC - 5 hrs
I think I'd settle for learning the lesson and not doing it again. Unless the change was disastrous - then obviously someone has to get canned, and hopefully for the organization it won't be the customer terminating the organization.
Posted by
Sammy Larbi
on Dec 10, 2007 at 02:08 PM UTC - 5 hrs
