Samples Are Templates

Samples Are Templates

If you produce sample applications, some of your users will cut n paste the code and use it to build their own applications. If the code is insecure, the client just created an insecure application. I once had one of those life-changing moments while spending time with the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET team. One of their developers told me that samples are not samples they are templates. The comment is true.

When you write a sample application, think to yourself, Is this code production quality? Would I use this code on my own production system? If the answer is no, you need to change the sample. People learn by example, and that includes learning bad mistakes from bad samples.