I have heard it said that bad code has a smell. Today I’m learning that some code also has a sound. Not a sound that I hear by looking at the code but a sound that is made by the programmers trying to use it. From across the desk I can tell that the CPAN module they are trying to use is badly written. Actually from the sounds drifting across the desk I would say it’s the worst piece of code they’ve had to deal with in weeks. It’s never good when the programmers say things like “What?”, “Yuck!” and “Eugh!” and then start to shudder at the horrors of what they are looking at. I don’t need to see this module to agree that we should spend the time refactoring it before using it. Based on their reaction I think I’ll hide on my side of the room until they’re finished.