Mostly, I've been lucky enough to work in companies where the programmers and the Sys. Admins rubbed elbows. Heck, I've even been a programmer for a company where the Sys. Admin. wore my jeans, kissed my husband, drank from my coffee mug--that sort of thing.
Today I was reminded of why keeping those who write code that runs on the servers cheek-by-jowl with those who keep the servers clean, healthy and running is a thing of undiluted good.
I'm sure it will come as a shock to my gentle reader, but there was--dare I confess it?--a bug in my code. If a user clicked a web page image (which functioned more or less like a tab), JavaScript on the web page tried loading a nonexistent file from a nonexistent folder. But the user would never know it--and, in fact, this code may be left over from as early as 2002. (Ah, the wonders of copy-and-paste!) But our alpha-geek has started paying attention to the web server logs, particularly after working our Sys. Admin. (who, incidentally, sits kitty-corner from me) to parse and summarize the log messages and route the tastier bits to the interested parties.
In the grand scheme of things, the harm this gremlin does consists of wasting CPU cycles and generating unnecessary email messages. (The web server doesn't care if a file request works or not, so that's a wash.) But that's not to say that another "invisible" error might not have been more insidious. That's where not building a wall between programmers and admins. pays off--most notably in the amount of time and friction required to fix a bug.
Sadly, I've also worked at places where departments staffed by programmers are considered "profit centers," and departments staffed by Sys. Admins. are considered "cost centers." The harm isn't just in the de facto caste system it creates; it also serves to drive up the cost of such bugs. Bottom line (and I do mean "bottom line"): Don't be that company.
