Most expensive javascript ever?
from http://my.opera.com/hallvors/blog/2009/07/20/most-expensive-javascript-ever
I’ve wanted to tell this story for a while, and I don’t think I’m spilling any beans or disclosing any sensitive information at this point.
So, a while ago Opera Software needed more servers. Not just a few servers either - we were planning Opera Mini’s growth, implementing Opera Link, and My Opera was also growing quickly. We predicted crazy server load increases for the foreseeable future (and man, were we right!)
Clearly we needed to make a massive investment on the server capacity front (basically buying these shiny things and then some.)
Management put a hefty check on the table - I’m sure our beloved sysadmins felt like kids before Christmas - and salivating sales people from major hardware vendors grabbed our requirements spec, dived into their CRMs and crunched their spreadsheets. They emerged with offers and sample servers shipped all the way to Oslo for our testing pleasure.
However, one of the world’s biggest hardware vendors - whose name every single reader will be familiar with, and whose hardware a good share of you will be using right now - apparently didn’t do their homework. When Opera’s sysadmin booted up the server to test its web-based administration interface, they came across a single JavaScript statement that managed to piss off everyone up to and including the CTO.
This single statement, apparently written by some sub-contractor they had outsourced admin interface programming to, cost them millions of NOK in lost sales.
And the code they sent all the way to Oslo for testing? Here’s an extract:
if (is.opera)
{
window.location.href=”config/error.htm”;
}
