Keep a programming journal

Re:Keep a programming journal by asynchronous13 on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @11:28AM (#4449059)

My background is in Electrical Engineering, and we were always taught to keep a work journal with specific features so it would be a legal document. I just figured they were trying to sell us the more expensive notebooks. That is, until some colleagues were called to court to testify in a patent challenge about the contents of their journals (regarding work from 10 years prior). I take my journal a lot more seriously now.

If the notebook is bound (can't add or remove pages), with pre-numbered pages (proves no pages added or removed), and entries are dated, it's pretty much automatically admissible in court. Loose or missing pages, hand written page numbers, missing dates -- won't necessarily make it inadmissible, but it leaves room for the work to be challenged by the opposing team.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by gmrple on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @12:23PM (#4449389)

They taught me to have it signed, by myself and someone else every day.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by autotravis on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @01:39PM (#4449934)

"If the notebook is bound (can't add or remove pages), with pre-numbered pages (proves no pages added or removed)..."

Does anyone know of a good place to get an inexpensive (and leatherless) one of these? I would say any notebook would work, but I haven't ran on to many with numbered pages.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by getriver on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @03:19PM (#4450507)

Sadly I've never run into a notebook with pre-numbered pages. I did buy the Think/Create/Record for less than 4 bucks. Numbering them isn't as time consuming as you'd think them to be. Someone mentioned composition books, they're leatherless and inexpensive.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by brainid on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @02:03PM (#4450104)

The National Brand Computation Notebook is popular. $12 from Amazon.

I have used them for years.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by mbreese on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @02:19PM (#4450203)

Those are my favorite. I used those a ton in grad school and I highly recommend them. The only downside is that they are pretty large.

For my walk-around notebook that I carry to meetings for notes, etc, I use a quad ruled Moleskine. The pages aren't numbered, but they are permanently bound.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by eckyptang on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @04:28PM (#4450928)

Does anyone know a UK supplier for these or similar?

I've been after a decent notebook for about 10 years but all you can get here is crap.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by richardjordan on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @04:22PM (#4450889)

Thanks for the tip - nice notebook - I wish I could get a nice hard cover book WITH numbered pages.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by lallysingh on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @07:51PM (#4452110)

Available off of amazon: http://www.leuchtturm1917.com/

I switched from moleskines, and have been quite happy.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by richardjordan on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @09:32PM (#4452421)

nice tip

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Re:Keep a programming journal by billswift on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @04:33PM (#4450965)

Check out accountants' Journals, they have lined paper rather than quadrille, but they work well.

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Re:Keep a programming journal by edu on Thursday August 30, 2012 @04:05AM (#4453560)

I got one of those from a friend doing research at University , her department always has a good stock of them.

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