PL/SQL “Don’ts” 7 & 8
uConvert datatypes implicitly
ØYou should not trust implicit conversions of datatypes, especially dates.
ØProblems with implicit conversion occurs when working with numeric values that are not numeric.
ØNot everything that looks like a numeric value is a numeric value.
uCut and paste code indiscriminately
ØAdvantages (relevant for developers):
§You are not touching the existing code,
§The code has already been checked and does not contain syntax errors.
§No need to retest the code that is dependent on the original code.
ØDrawbacks (relevant for people maintaining the system):
§Modification has to be replicated everywhere.
§Code becomes less readable and more spaghetti-like.
ØNothing technically wrong with cutting and pasting code but a few development hours saved can mean days of downtime for an entire organization
later on.
