I'd nearly forgotten how much work an article is
-
I experienced that talking about code is hard - I'm so familiar with my own code that sometime it's hard to say anything about it... That's the point when I understand that it's ain't an article really, but some code-tip... However 5 days for an article is good...I'm going to see it...
I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)
:laugh: I doubt you will learn anything new!
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt -
:laugh: I doubt you will learn anything new!
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
See my post there - not that is new to me...but it's so true. Unfortunately...
I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)
"It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox
-
See my post there - not that is new to me...but it's so true. Unfortunately...
I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)
It is, unfortunately - the info is all there, but by heck you have to work at getting it out in a useful form sometimes! :laugh:
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
-
Published another one! Started life as an answer to a question in the forums, and it still took 5 days to get it right as an article, despite being mostly the same material with some additions - I admit that fighting the article submission wizard took a goodly chunk of that - but it's a relief to get it out. Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code? Anyone else find that?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
I do a lot of research for most of my articles and that takes time, clean up the code, etc. but when it comes to the writing I stumble. I usually spend most of my time proof reading and rewriting and then have to settle for what I think is not perfect but gets the point across.
-
Published another one! Started life as an answer to a question in the forums, and it still took 5 days to get it right as an article, despite being mostly the same material with some additions - I admit that fighting the article submission wizard took a goodly chunk of that - but it's a relief to get it out. Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code? Anyone else find that?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
OriginalGriff wrote:
Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code?
Absolutely, and what makes a person a professional developer (in my opinion, but it's also widely cited in the community) is the ability to put the code into words. So congrats! [rant]What really amazes me though is how little people give credit to that skill -- if you've never tried writing an article, you really have no basis for understanding. It's something I find amazing in how glossed over the article/book publishing skill is when interviewing at a company.[/rant] Marc
-
OriginalGriff wrote:
Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code?
Absolutely, and what makes a person a professional developer (in my opinion, but it's also widely cited in the community) is the ability to put the code into words. So congrats! [rant]What really amazes me though is how little people give credit to that skill -- if you've never tried writing an article, you really have no basis for understanding. It's something I find amazing in how glossed over the article/book publishing skill is when interviewing at a company.[/rant] Marc
Thanks! :-O I think that's why it annoys me when we get people who assume it's ok to copy anything from a paragraph to a page from somewhere and post it as their own article. It does matter that someone else wrote it: that paragraph may have taken them an hour to get exactly like that! You probably didn't spend that long on the damn code you are adding to it...:mad: Sorry, sorry - don't know what came over me there...
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
-
Published another one! Started life as an answer to a question in the forums, and it still took 5 days to get it right as an article, despite being mostly the same material with some additions - I admit that fighting the article submission wizard took a goodly chunk of that - but it's a relief to get it out. Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code? Anyone else find that?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
Writing articles is hard work. When the article seems to go unnoticed once it posted does not make it any easier. I guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed, but then the lounge would soon get filled with "New article" posts.
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
-
Writing articles is hard work. When the article seems to go unnoticed once it posted does not make it any easier. I guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed, but then the lounge would soon get filled with "New article" posts.
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
They do appear on the home page - but how many regulars go there, except on Monday for the survey, and to check the moderation queue? It would help if some of the QA posters would use the (heck, any) search facility - probably half of them could get a quicker solution from existing articles if they did...
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
-
Published another one! Started life as an answer to a question in the forums, and it still took 5 days to get it right as an article, despite being mostly the same material with some additions - I admit that fighting the article submission wizard took a goodly chunk of that - but it's a relief to get it out. Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code? Anyone else find that?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
OriginalGriff wrote:
Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code?
No, it's definitely not just you :-O Cranking out the code for D3.js crash course - Part2[^] - and writing the article wan't all that hard as the code isn't very complicated. On the other hand I put a lot of work into DBTool for Oracle - Part 1[^], and I'm pretty certain that I was unable to create an article that did justice to that effort. Too much information, unclear as to what the project really is about, etc... So far I've found that it's extreemly hard to create readable material on anything but fairly simple subjects ...
Espen Harlinn Principal Architect, Software - Goodtech Projects & Services AS Projects promoting programming in "natural language" are intrinsically doomed to fail. Edsger W.Dijkstra
-
Published another one! Started life as an answer to a question in the forums, and it still took 5 days to get it right as an article, despite being mostly the same material with some additions - I admit that fighting the article submission wizard took a goodly chunk of that - but it's a relief to get it out. Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code? Anyone else find that?
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
Just yesterday I wrote an article about my software auto updater. It took me the better part of a day to write the software and about the same to write the article. I have given up on the online editor. I just write it offline in html and paste it into the html box.
-
Just yesterday I wrote an article about my software auto updater. It took me the better part of a day to write the software and about the same to write the article. I have given up on the online editor. I just write it offline in html and paste it into the html box.
Yvan Rodrigues wrote:
my software auto updater.
Last week I almost posted in the Hall of Shame how I broke our software auto updater in the last release...the one that most customers are now running! :doh: At least it's an easy workaround. I will check out your article.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
-
OriginalGriff wrote:
Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code?
Absolutely, and what makes a person a professional developer (in my opinion, but it's also widely cited in the community) is the ability to put the code into words. So congrats! [rant]What really amazes me though is how little people give credit to that skill -- if you've never tried writing an article, you really have no basis for understanding. It's something I find amazing in how glossed over the article/book publishing skill is when interviewing at a company.[/rant] Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
What really amazes me though is how little people give credit to that skil ... I find amazing in how glossed over the article/book publishing skill is when interviewing at a company.[
That is all very nice but maybe they want you to write code. :doh:
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Writing articles is hard work. When the article seems to go unnoticed once it posted does not make it any easier. I guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed, but then the lounge would soon get filled with "New article" posts.
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
PJ Arends wrote:
guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed
Don't even think about it. :suss:
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Marc Clifton wrote:
What really amazes me though is how little people give credit to that skil ... I find amazing in how glossed over the article/book publishing skill is when interviewing at a company.[
That is all very nice but maybe they want you to write code. :doh:
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesJimmyRopes wrote:
That is all very nice but maybe they want you to write code.
If you can't communicate, the code you write is at best worthless. At a gig that I just landed, documentation is severely lacking. It's taken days just to get a computer to run the entire code base (which ironically is quite small, but there's lots of configuration nuances) locally, without the need for direct connection to the production servers. Lots of man-hours wasted, but fortunately the people higher up on the food chain amazingly recognize the need for good documentation so that waste of time doesn't have to be repeated by future people that the company brings on board for the project. Marc
-
JimmyRopes wrote:
That is all very nice but maybe they want you to write code.
If you can't communicate, the code you write is at best worthless. At a gig that I just landed, documentation is severely lacking. It's taken days just to get a computer to run the entire code base (which ironically is quite small, but there's lots of configuration nuances) locally, without the need for direct connection to the production servers. Lots of man-hours wasted, but fortunately the people higher up on the food chain amazingly recognize the need for good documentation so that waste of time doesn't have to be repeated by future people that the company brings on board for the project. Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
Lots of man-hours wasted, but fortunately the people higher up on the food chain amazingly recognize the need for good documentation so that waste of time doesn't have to be repeated by future people that the company brings on board for the project.
Good on ya. At least you have a place that likes that you can write. Not something I have been able to get lately. Usually they just want me to crank out the code and let others, like yourself, document the process.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Marc Clifton wrote:
Lots of man-hours wasted, but fortunately the people higher up on the food chain amazingly recognize the need for good documentation so that waste of time doesn't have to be repeated by future people that the company brings on board for the project.
Good on ya. At least you have a place that likes that you can write. Not something I have been able to get lately. Usually they just want me to crank out the code and let others, like yourself, document the process.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesYou have such an interesting attitude. Why is that? Frankly, I often find that if I do some up-front documentation / design, not only does it make it clearer what needs to be coded, but I can also provide better estimates. It also often highlights sometimes significant problems that end up causing re-thinks of major sections of the code. Marc
-
You have such an interesting attitude. Why is that? Frankly, I often find that if I do some up-front documentation / design, not only does it make it clearer what needs to be coded, but I can also provide better estimates. It also often highlights sometimes significant problems that end up causing re-thinks of major sections of the code. Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
You have such an interesting attitude. Why is that?
Because I have been around for 40 years. Oh yes I am jaded. I used to think like you but the reality is that they want you to crank out code.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Marc Clifton wrote:
You have such an interesting attitude. Why is that?
Because I have been around for 40 years. Oh yes I am jaded. I used to think like you but the reality is that they want you to crank out code.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesJimmyRopes wrote:
Because I have been around for 40 years.
In the industry, or total years of life? I'm 51, been programming since I was 12. What I hear is a lot of bitterness. Yes, working in this industry has left me rather jaded, but there are definitely some gems that I have enjoyed, but people and jobs. Marc
-
PJ Arends wrote:
guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed
Don't even think about it. :suss:
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
JimmyRopes wrote:
Because I have been around for 40 years.
In the industry, or total years of life? I'm 51, been programming since I was 12. What I hear is a lot of bitterness. Yes, working in this industry has left me rather jaded, but there are definitely some gems that I have enjoyed, but people and jobs. Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
In the industry, or total years of life?
In the industry.
Marc Clifton wrote:
What I hear is a lot of bitterness.
Yes it is reality hitting a former optimist in the face.
Marc Clifton wrote:
Yes, working in this industry has left me rather jaded, but there are definitely some gems that I have enjoyed
Me too but they are few and far between. For the most part people pay you to code what they want, period. What you think is, at best, just your opinion. Good luck with that!
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes
