Another stupid patent by M$

[K.I.L.E.R]

Microsoft Patents TODO in Software
This evening after my new routine at the gym, I noticed on News.com that Microsoft had been granted another patent. This one apparently covers leaving TODO comments in your source code and having them checked off a checklist. From News.com, “ The patented technology essentially integrates certain comments left in the source code of an application under development with an accompanying checklist. Leave a "TODO" comment in the source code, and an authoring application automatically creates an item in the task list. Check an item off on the task list, and the corresponding source code comment is changed.â€￾

This seems like an interesting patent, and while I haven’t read over the filing, it seems like the TODO features in IDEA, Eclipse, and other IDEs may come close if not actually fall under this patent. If Microsoft decided to enforce this one, would all our favorite IDEs be forced to pay royalty fees or remove these features? I use the TODO feature in IDEA all the time and find it invaluable; it’d be a shame to lose it.
-Java Lobby newsletter.

I'm sorry, but this has to be the largest pile of dung in the history of the planet.
I mean, WTF? How do you patent comments?

This is fubar, I can't believe patents like this aren't thrown out. Out of all the shit this crap is the worst patent to date.

Next M$ will be patenting the air we breathe.

 

[Anonymous]

It sounds to me like it's not the comment itself that is patented, but the process of maintaining an corresponding checklist in the IDE, whereby checking off an item on the list removes the comment automatically. I still don't think it should be patentable (in fact, I don't think any software should be patentable, copyright law is more than enough), but it's not like you can't put /* TODO: implement this */ in your code anymore.

 

[cthellis42]

Software patenting is in need of a SERIOUS enema. At the moment, all it seems to be is a bludgeon to use against other companies, or scavenging to protect angles of attack.

As much as I don't like the prospects of "big company taking everyone else's ideas and using them to hold their market position," there needs to be some serious reform in how these get filed and approved. :?

Meanwhile an article Slashdotted on just this very stuff.

 

[BRiT]

Give me a fucking break!

I should file a patent for using "WTF:" in source code comments... 8)

 

[diehaerte]

well they also got a patent for double clicking, don´t they?

what can you say about this? maybe just fuck it and get back to doin something useful.

 

[Captain Chickenpants]

I tend to insert compiler messages into the code like so.

debug.h
----------
.
.
#define __LOC__ __FILE__ "("__STR1__(__LINE__)") : Warning Msg: "
#define __STR2__(x) #x
#define __STR1__(x) __STR2__(x)
.
.



somefile.c
------------
#include "debug.h"


.
.
#pragma message ( __LOC__"Todo, drink more beer" )
.
.

This has the useful feature that when you double click on the message in Visual Studio/Codewright etc it takes you to the file as the message is formatted in the same way as a error/warning message. This probably only works with MS compilers but as that is what I mainly use it is quite handy.

CC

 

[London Geezer]

I think they should copyright the word "program". And the words "arrogant assholes".

 

[DemoCoder]

I've been using

//FIXME(authorname) this needs X added to it

and then grep for //FIXME

 

[cthellis42]

YOU CAT'N USE IT ANEMOR NOW HAHA I DONT CAER HOW MANY DECADES CODE HAS HAD COMENTS LEIK THAT!!!11!!!

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

YOU CAT'N USE IT ANEMOR NOW HAHA I DONT CAER HOW MANY DECADES CODE HAS HAD COMENTS LEIK THAT!!!11!!!

Good point, but have you known M$ to actually patent something without a reason? They're probably going to do something.