Does the Internet make software developers lazy?
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
I sometimes wonder whether software development has become a system-integration activity. You take components from different places, and integrate them to give out a solution to your customer. if ( Software Development == System Integration ) { Be lazy and Minimize your work; Maximize your profits; }
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
Nope. You might as well ask if it is cheating to read the documentation rather than just figure it out through trial, error and cleverness. Or question whether someone reading your future article would be lazy to read your article rather than come up with the solution for themselves. I start with the documentation and work my way out. If I'm still lost by the time I get to the Internet someone else's code often explains the method more sensibly than the documentation. On the flip side; do you recall what it was like to research a coding problem BEFORE you could use a search engine?
_____________________________ Give a man a mug, he drinks for a day. Teach a man to mug...
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Michael Bergman wrote:
document your references
Definitely a good idea. If anything, it's useful to link back to the original source when there's an article describing the code for a complicated snippet - that way you have the author's "documentation" and explanation of why the code works (assuming the author knows what they're talking about :))
The shout of progress is not "Eureka!" it's "Strange... that's not what i expected". - peterchen
Unfortuntately, much of the net is useless for reference links. 6 months later you're trying to understand your code, follow a link and its no longer there.
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
For those of us who work without access to a team of like minded developers or specialized technically library - its essential
Ger
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Its not lazy, but there is no point re-inventing the wheel! However, despite having tools such as Google at our disposal, many fail to know how to use it properly, or simply can't be @rsed. Proof of that lies in many of the qestions asked here on CP and on many other sites. :)
Dave Find Me On: Web|Facebook|Twitter|LinkedIn
Folding Stats: Team CodeProject
Well said.
----------------------------- Just along for the ride. -----------------------------
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
Judging by the latest set of questions on the Question section.. it would appear some people are so lazy they can't even google for the answer, and need someone else to do it for them!
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
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For serious developers, the internet doesn't make you lazy, it's simply another tool/resource. I may look for code samples online, but only as a guide, and I never use it unless I understand it. As someone else mentioned, why spend an hour deriving a solution when 10 minutes of Googling can find an example that you can read through an realize "Yeah, that's exactly what I want to do" or "What was this guy smoking? I'll figure it out myself." :) In my case, I always access MSDN documentation online rather than using local help, since local seems to take 5 minutes to open the first time, but opening in a web browser is relatively instant. Plus, any updates to documentation are always online, and not necessarily available for download. I'm not sure, but I doubt MS ships updated local documentation for a VS service pack - they probably assume you have internet access and will just get to the latest documentation online anyway. Dybs
The shout of progress is not "Eureka!" it's "Strange... that's not what i expected". - peterchen
I never use it unless I understand it I wish some of my developers followed that rule. Again and again I find code that is somewhat flaky and when I ask the developer about it he says, "It's something I found on the Internet." Now I worship the God Google and wonder how we ever lived without it. Most documentation has been a joke and many books require you to read everything up to the part you are interested in to comprehend their presentation. But somewhere in the InnerTubes, someone has had the same frustrations and have taken the time to give a real code example of what you are looking for. But you have to understand what you are looking at before you use it. I agree with you 100%.
Psychosis at 10 Film at 11
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
Use both documentation and code samples found throughout the Internet.
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Plain Old Copy Repeatedly And Paste programming.
Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.
hehehe... I had to sign in just so I could plus 5 that one.
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
I don't think Google (for all intents and purposes, used in place of "the internet") generally makes software developers lazy, but I do think it makes gives really mediocre developers a resource to get enough done so they're not in danger of getting fired for incompetence. I personally use it to find simple examples of unfamiliar syntax or unusual techniques (I think they call it "web design", ugh). And, it removes the need to have 15, thousand-page desk reference textbooks on hand!
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
If google provides the documentation plus explanatory code samples in 1.25 seconds while MSDN is still deciding which useless, bloated, theoretical horse apples to try to pawn off as useful info, then no, the internet doesn't make us lazy.
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
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For serious developers, the internet doesn't make you lazy, it's simply another tool/resource. I may look for code samples online, but only as a guide, and I never use it unless I understand it. As someone else mentioned, why spend an hour deriving a solution when 10 minutes of Googling can find an example that you can read through an realize "Yeah, that's exactly what I want to do" or "What was this guy smoking? I'll figure it out myself." :) In my case, I always access MSDN documentation online rather than using local help, since local seems to take 5 minutes to open the first time, but opening in a web browser is relatively instant. Plus, any updates to documentation are always online, and not necessarily available for download. I'm not sure, but I doubt MS ships updated local documentation for a VS service pack - they probably assume you have internet access and will just get to the latest documentation online anyway. Dybs
The shout of progress is not "Eureka!" it's "Strange... that's not what i expected". - peterchen
dybs wrote:
In my case, I always access MSDN documentation online rather than using local help, since local seems to take 5 minutes to open the first time, but opening in a web browser is relatively instant.
This has been true since I was on dialup. And it makes me wonder. It really makes me wonder.
And sometimes when you're on, you're really f***ing on And your friends they sing along and they love you But the lows are so extreme that the good seems f***ing cheap And it teases you for weeks in its absence Rilo Kiley - "A Better Son/Daughter"
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
No way it makes you lazy. In fact I firmly believe Googling is an integral part of our job.
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
Hi, I don't think so does de software developers lazy, the thing is Why reinvent wheel???? . Cheers.
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What I mean is, does access to the Internet make you lazy when you're coding. Let me qualify this: when working on a routine that you're not sure how to code correctly, do you Google for example code instead of reading the necessary/relevant documentation? For example, I am currently working on a short article to post on Codeproject concerning the backing up and restoration of Windows 7 activation files. Because these files have limited user access, the program needs to change access permissions to backup and restore. So, rather than reading all of the necessary MSDN documentation, I Google for code samples. Not the correct way I know, but hey, it gets the job done. Or does it? Maybe in the short term, but in the long term I've learnt nothing. So the next time I need to code any access permission changes, I'm still no nearer to knowing the correct way. I suppose what I'm wondering is, has the Internet made me lazy?
As I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for I am the God of Death.... and this is my valley. Aici zace un om despre care nu sestie prea mult
Think of the Net as Socrates. I like to use examples and try to improve on them if necessary. If it is a new language to me (e.g. node.js) I like to skim the doc quickly to get into it but build my first apps based on examples until I see the patterns and remember the syntax better. I try to find more than one example, then pick one by testing each code. This seems practical to me. Why ignore the code out there. Use it as a lever to move forward. I post code when I want to share so that others can do what I did with the examples I started with. Other people's code is probably better than yours at first anyway. Later you can write better code than the examples once you are up to speed.
"Courtesy is the product of a mature, disciplined mind ... ridicule is lack of the same - DPM"