At work, I’m experimenting with a code profiling tool called DevPartner Performance Analysis Community Edition from Compuware.
The user manual — a 410 page PDF file, yuck — contains this nugget of wisdom on page 228:
When you have finished reviewing performace data you can save the session file.
1. Close the session file window in Visual Studio. DevPartner prompts you to save the session file.
2. Click OK to accept the default file name and location.DevPartner saves session files as part of the active solution. They appear in the DevPartner Studio virtual folder in Solution Explorer.
Telling the user to close an unsaved file in order to save it is very bad advice! Closing an unsaved file is a destructive operation, i.e. it will blow away your unsaved data. Just because most well-behaved programs will prompt the user to save first is no excuse for telling the user to close a file in order to save it.
So, what happened when I closed my profiling session without saving it? Mind you, this was done as an experiment, purely in the interests of science, or something. BLAM! Visual Studio and DevPartner dutifully vaporized an hour’s worth of work without a single hint of a save dialog.
Way to go, Compuware.
Tags: bad design, Compuware, gripe, software, work