I have been working on top of a code base set up by another guy. As I went thru the code, again and again, I got the feeling that it was well written and well designed, unlike so much other crap I see out there. It gave me "trust" that the code was doing what it was supposed to for the most part, and that the design decisions were sound, as well as an easy way to extend the code base.
In an act of kindness I decided to send an email to the original coder thanking him for good design, specifically outlining what I thought was good, so he knows I mean business. Pretty gay, you might say. Well gay or not, I think the guy needed to hear it, and he was very greatful for the praise.
I also realized that in my many years of coding, I only heard direct praise about some particular thing I did in the code only once or twice.
This just got me thinking how in the programming world it's so rare that we praise other people's code, and that's pretty sad. On the other hand, we do waaay too much bashing of other people's designs and coding abilities, behind their backs, or worse yet, in their face. Nothing wrong with constructive criticism, except it tends to be unconstructive for the most part. So there's some kind of mucho culture in existence that prevents us from giving each other props on a job well done.
Next time I work on a code base where I realize the guy put in some effort to make it easy for the next person, I'll make sure to mention it to them. You should do the same.
