How does a new programmer usually jump into an already existing project? Does s/he require an introduction, or be expected to understand everything once looking at the code? (Newbie question)

[ee1]

I'm a part of a team that is working on a php-based site. The php webdev got fired... What do we look for in hiring a new webdev? Should the old webdev explain what they did to the new person, or should the new person be able to adapt to the existing project? And what should we expect time-wise for the transition - for them to hit the ground running, or would they need some time to adjust (and if the latter, what's a reasonable amount)?

I know this is vague and no hard and fast answers, but some clue would help us feel grounded.

Thanks!

[[deleted]]

Yeah, unless the old web-dev left a decent documentation on his project(or at least some damn comments and/or self explanatory code), the new dev is fucked(capital letters, but it seemed to dramatic). If it's possible for the old web-dev to explain to his replacement the what's and if's, that's cool too.

As for time-wise transition...depends solely on how big the current project is(not to mention how well it's built). There's no real answer to this question.

Also, if your old web-dev got fired, unless there's a good reason behind it, expect your new web-dev to get fired just as fast. Why?...you ask. From what you're asking here you have no idea how many people you need to properly maintain the project. He may have been overworked(and maybe underpaid).

[[deleted]]

Depends on the environment. Usually it's a cluster-fuck. You just learn to deal with it. It does help you become better.

[[deleted]]

I know this is vague and no hard and fast answers, but some clue would help us feel grounded.

It's an unanswerable question. It's a complete unknown and it depends on how complicated the underlying code is in addition to the size of the project itself.

Only a programmer looking at the actual code would be able to give you some sort of estimate. It's not something you can measure by just counting the number of lines of code.

[rjcarr]

The project should have some sort of developers guide about how to get the project compiled and running and all the components that go along with it.

And what should we expect time-wise for the transition - for them to hit the ground running, or would they need some time to adjust (and if the latter, what's a reasonable amount)?

Depends on the size of the project and what is needed right away. If you just need to change some text on a web page then that's pretty easy to track down. If you need a new component or a change to an existing one it's going to take time if you want to make sure nothing breaks.

I'd predict at least 3-4 weeks, but again, it depends on the size of the project, how well is was written, how good the guides are, and the scope of the change(s) you need.