Ethics in coding

[PhiloVance]

You're ideas for coding the program, your concepts, so to speak, are the result of your experiences.

Years ago I used to code in COBOL and all programmers worked on all programs doing maintenance and whatever. Occasionally we were asked to write something new. Almost always, when I was given a new project, I would look over the old code in another similar program, whether I originally wrote it or not to get ideas on how to set the new one up. We had some loose standards (no goto's, don't use report writer, etc.) but other than that we were pretty free to code as we pleased.

As a result, we all ended up reading each others code, getting ideas from others and basically sharing. I don't feel borrowing other's ideas and incorporating them into your program is unethical.

Only if someone used your code exactly and called it something else, would I consider it unethical.

Just my 2 cents.


PhiloVance
Other hobbies, interests: Travel, Model RR (HO Gauge), Genealogy.

 

[iza]

"I don't feel borrowing other's ideas and incorporating them into your program is unethical" - i would add, to me, this is even the basics of coding !!! it's the best way to learn a langage, to improve your knowledge of it, to get some new tricks ... i don't see it as unethical - and i can't figure out how it can be seen so (i'd be pleased to hear from someone who does think it's unethical tho !)
- i mean, except, as you said, if one used my code EXACTLY (but then, i'd like to see someone who has EXACTLY the same needs ! i think someone could only borrow PIECES of it - and that, it doesn't matter )

 

[MasterRacker]

Unless you're an independent contractor with some very specific language in your contract, it's not "your" code. If you employed by a company as a programmer, all of your output is intellectual property of the company, not you.

In any multi-programmer environment it would be foolish and inefficient NOT to cut and paste code since you would be re-inventing the wheel. The only time this is not true is if you go to work somewhere else and bring your source code with you. If you're a permanent employee (not a consultant) and you're working under any normal kind of employment agreement, using code you wrote at Company A on a project you're doing at Company B is illegal and considered theft.

This is really no different than agreements most design engineers work under. They get their names on the patents as the inventor, but the company who paid them and provided resources for them to develop the item are the ones who own the rights to sell and profit from it.
Jeff
masterracker@hotmail.com

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