Protecting Code

[Guest]

Hi,

I am having to hand a db over to a different team after 7 years of
development and am wondering if it possible to protect certain lines of code
within my modules?

Making an MDE is not an option as they need full access to the database.

Even colouring the text in white would help.

The reason is, they will remove any reference to me but I want to hard code
an about button with my name and then hide the code/function somehow!

Any help would be appreciated,
Steve.

 

[RobFMS]

Its really not the code you should target, it should be some kind of
"copyright" notice that you can apply. If you really want to have credit for
the application then negotiate a contract to have something visible. Code is
just code. By tomorrow, something will come along and make a process run
better or the 3-4 functions that you created might be replaced with a new
function command that Microsoft ships in their next release.

HTH
--
Rob Mastrostefano

FMS Professional Solutions Group
http://www.fmsinc.com/consulting

Software Tools for .NET, SQL Server, Visual Basic & Access
http://www.fmsinc.com

 

[Guest]

I have added a function to show a message box and have hidden the module.

Ive put an 'about' option on all my custom menus which call the function.

Its a bit sketchy but the best I can do by the sounds of it.

Sometimes working in a large company has its downfalls but 'business
critical' systems like this one need proper support but for the support team
to take credit is downright sickening

Cheers, anyway.
Steve.

 

[RobFMS]

If you are concerned about the support team being contacted when there is an
issue, then I recommend discussing with the management team the best
strategy to have something in place. Believe me... when a system fails (in
the eyes of the user), they *KNOW* how to find the people... (grin)

As far has having "code credit"... I think you're fighting a lost cause. The
important thing should be is that your immediate supervisor should be aware
of what contributions you have given to the project and that should also be
documented for your review. I had worked for a gov't agency as a contractor.
Our team was *constantly* degraded by the gov't management team, even though
the lauch of the application was successful! It was just the nature of how
things happened. The important factor for us was that the Project Manager
was fully aware of what contributions each of us made to the overall
project. As a result, the PM wrote a letter to my supervisor explaining my
valuable contributions to the success of the project.

--
Rob Mastrostefano

FMS Professional Solutions Group
http://www.fmsinc.com/consulting

Software Tools for .NET, SQL Server, Visual Basic & Access
http://www.fmsinc.com

 

[RD]

Several years ago I helped develope an application for a global clothing
manufacturer. It was a fairly complex system involving VB, ASP and email. The
gal that came up with the idea absolutely knew that her boss was going to take
all the credit just as I knew that after I left there were going to be people
taking credit for my work. I didn't know enough about web programming at the
time but in the VB support applications I coded in a couple of easter eggs with
our names and contact info. You can do that with a compiled application but a
good enough Access person could undo it in a mdb. Still, I think you've done
about the best that you can do: create some hidden forms and assign their
opening some action. My favorite is a simple double click anywhere in the
detail of a form. It's a mindless kind of thing that I see people do all the
time.

I was called back to that company three years after they let my first contract
go and, sure enough, there were people taking credit for my coding. I popped my
easter egg in front of the most egregious of the offenders and the director and
thanked him very much for being "so thoughtful". The director and I had a good
laugh. The guy got fired a month or two later.