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I asked about this on Stack Overflow, and was referred here (to Code Review), though I still think it may be out of scope for CR.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12749863/where-can-a-n00b-developer-go-to-get-feedback

The question is:

I have written my first (complete) program, how can I (not working for someone who will tell me if I did a good job, or doing it for a class with grades) get feedback on what I have made, as a whole? As far as usability, code, efficiency, documentation, graphics, and possibly bugs I missed.

Now CR is a place for code review, but is review of the entire application (in this case a game) as I outlined on SO within scope here? It seems like too large a question, that will be unlikely to help others if they come across it.

Take note that I would also be interested in feedback on non-code elements of the program, which is not "code-review" at all, though an important part of the application.

Let me give an example:

In the question I intend to ask I will need to post the entire source of a Java game. This source crosses multiple files. Plus I would need to post the sprite textures, as I would love some feedback on them, and I would need to link to a compiled copy of the game itself, for someone to actually play. The game can be compiled and run in browser, or as a .jar file. I have noticed that the in-browser version runs poorly (framerate problem), while the Jar runs fine, but I do not know why, I blame it on JRE. What I want is someone to look at it all, and tell me what I did well, what I did wrong, what I could make better, and if there are any things about the language I could utilize to improve things. Not to mention the big question: Is this fun???

Is that an appropriate use of CR?

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To be honest, if you want good feedback, you'll want to break you code up over multiple reviews. For example, if you've developed an event messaging system system, you may want to post that - the key classes and an example usage. You can, in the summary, explain that it is coming from a larger application and link to a zip with the full working (source & resources) version of your app. But by breaking it into smaller logical chunks, you'll get better feedback.

Some examples of logical chunks would be:

  • event/messaging system
  • user authentication
  • database access
  • sprite class
  • toon/character class
  • automated turret class
  • AI path-finding logic
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  • \$\begingroup\$ And that may be the case, my SO question was where can I find a place that offers what I described, and I didn't get much help. They insisted that this was the place to come, but I don't think it is. I am not looking for an in depth analysis of each class, I don't have any one chunk that I want input on. I am looking for someone(s) to take a look at the project as a whole, and its parts, and give me an evaluation. Basically something akin to a grade I would receive were this for a class, but it isn't so I have nobody waiting to do just that. As well as some helpful pointers/suggestions. \$\endgroup\$
    – zeel
    Oct 9, 2012 at 5:22
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    \$\begingroup\$ @zeel: This is still your best bet. Even if you don't want just a review on one class, that one review is likely to tell you much about all the rest of your classes, as you are likely to do similar things across the entire application. Then you can extrapolate on that and make the necessary changes. Rinse, dry, repeat. And of course, at the bottom of every post you can link to a github, or similar repository, for someone to take a look at the whole if they wish. Otherwise, yes, the whole application is a bit much and there isn't really a "good" place to put something like this. \$\endgroup\$
    – mseancole
    Oct 9, 2012 at 13:07
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Evaluating an entire application is probably outside of the scope of CodeReview. You may want to look into hiring a consultant.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Don't know that I need to go quite that far, but I agree that CR is too narrow in scope for my needs. \$\endgroup\$
    – zeel
    Oct 9, 2012 at 15:43

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