Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. "Why didn't you just use [insert your favorite library here]?"

"Why didn't you just use [insert your favorite library here]?"

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
questionhelplearning
34 Posts 23 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • S S Houghtelin

    glennPattonInThePUB wrote:

    spit & bailing wire

    That's real old school. :laugh:

    It was broke, so I fixed it.

    G Offline
    G Offline
    glennPattonWork3
    wrote on last edited by
    #14

    new is not always better, Win 8 for example...

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

      I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code?

      I guess one of the advantages of a good library is that by the time you get your sticky little fingers on it, thousands of other hopefuls have already suffered from the most obvious bugs and the worst of them have been sawn-off, sanded down, patched with filler, or occasionally even fixed!

      Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

      R Offline
      R Offline
      Rage
      wrote on last edited by
      #15

      Too bad this does not apply for languages, javascript would have profited from it.

      Do not escape reality : improve reality !

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • T Tim Carmichael

        glennPattonInThePUB wrote:

        bailing wire

        When I grew up, we only used bailing twine, not wire... Then, working in a pulp and paper facility, the pulp bails were held together with wire, so I then understood how it was used. Still prefer the twine, though. We'd gather it, tie them end-to-end, get three lengths and braid them to make rope.

        G Offline
        G Offline
        glennPattonWork3
        wrote on last edited by
        #16

        :cool:

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • M Marc Clifton

          John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

          Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code?

          Exactly my sentiment. :)

          John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

          Maybe it's time to retire...

          That too. :~

          John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

          People are really funny.

          If by "funny" you mean, for example, some newbie waltzing in and replacing 10 lines of working code that took 10 minutes to write with a huge general parser library that he can't get working after five days, and because he has some Haskell experience he convinces the CTO that everything should now be written in F#, then yeah, but somehow I fail to be amused. X| Marc

          Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny

          R Offline
          R Offline
          realJSOP
          wrote on last edited by
          #17

          Marc Clifton wrote:

          If by "funny" you mean, for example, some newbie waltzing in and replacing 10 lines of working code that took 10 minutes to write with a huge general parser library that he can't get working after five days, and because he has some Haskell experience he convinces the CTO that everything should now be written in F#, then yeah, but somehow I fail to be amused. X|

          In that case, the person isn't funny as much as he is a target of opportunity.

          ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
          -----
          You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
          -----
          When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • M Marc Clifton

            John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

            Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code?

            Exactly my sentiment. :)

            John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

            Maybe it's time to retire...

            That too. :~

            John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

            People are really funny.

            If by "funny" you mean, for example, some newbie waltzing in and replacing 10 lines of working code that took 10 minutes to write with a huge general parser library that he can't get working after five days, and because he has some Haskell experience he convinces the CTO that everything should now be written in F#, then yeah, but somehow I fail to be amused. X| Marc

            Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny

            Sander RosselS Offline
            Sander RosselS Offline
            Sander Rossel
            wrote on last edited by
            #18

            Marc Clifton wrote:

            somehow I fail to be amused

            I guess you're not funny enough :D Speaking of which, I better convince Chris and his team to re-write CP in Haskell, because that will certainly enhance my user experience :D

            Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.

            Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra

            Regards, Sander

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • G glennPattonWork3

              Hey lets not leave out spit & bailing wire! :laugh:

              OriginalGriffO Offline
              OriginalGriffO Offline
              OriginalGriff
              wrote on last edited by
              #19

              And it's permanent-repair companion: duct tape.

              Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

              "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

              G 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • R realJSOP

                My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                -----
                You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                -----
                When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                M Offline
                M Offline
                Mike Hankey
                wrote on last edited by
                #20

                It's no different when you retire, people are just as stupid.

                New version: WinHeist Version 2.2.2 Beta
                I told my psychiatrist that I was hearing voices in my head. He said you don't have a psychiatrist!

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                  And it's permanent-repair companion: duct tape.

                  Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

                  G Offline
                  G Offline
                  glennPattonWork3
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #21

                  :shakeshead: Duct Tape, I tend to use the term Gaffer Tape...

                  OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • G glennPattonWork3

                    :shakeshead: Duct Tape, I tend to use the term Gaffer Tape...

                    OriginalGriffO Offline
                    OriginalGriffO Offline
                    OriginalGriff
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #22

                    Nah. No way would the films have been watchable if Bruce Willis was crawling round in a Gaffer for most of the movie ...

                    Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

                    "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

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R realJSOP

                      My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                      ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                      -----
                      You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                      -----
                      When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                      N Offline
                      N Offline
                      NickPace
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #23

                      John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

                      Maybe it's time to retire...

                      Man, if I had buck for every time I thought that... well, I'd be able to retire

                      -NP Never underestimate the creativity of the end-user

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                        John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

                        I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code?

                        I guess one of the advantages of a good library is that by the time you get your sticky little fingers on it, thousands of other hopefuls have already suffered from the most obvious bugs and the worst of them have been sawn-off, sanded down, patched with filler, or occasionally even fixed!

                        Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

                        D Offline
                        D Offline
                        dandy72
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #24

                        Isn't that the theory also behind open source?

                        OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • D dandy72

                          Isn't that the theory also behind open source?

                          OriginalGriffO Offline
                          OriginalGriffO Offline
                          OriginalGriff
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #25

                          Yes - but open source software tends to get hacked about to get a specific feature added, with no overall "target" in mind. Libraries tend to be a bit more focussed and intended to "do X" rather than "do most of X and some of Y because I could use that". Having said that, I do use OS apps: Freemake Video Converter, Handbrake, and Libre Office for example. But Gimp I don't like - I pay money to Corel instead ( :sob: ).

                          Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

                          "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

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • R realJSOP

                            My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                            ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                            -----
                            You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                            -----
                            When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                            P Offline
                            P Offline
                            Plamen Dragiyski
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #26

                            People like to show off. For me a library is non-intrusive well documented collection of code that is designed to solve a single generalization of a common problem. Unfortunately, a lot of libraries are just out of idea collection of random advanced code collected from random application that solves author's issues, namely "your application should look like mine application, otherwise you have the wrong idea".

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • T Tim Carmichael

                              glennPattonInThePUB wrote:

                              bailing wire

                              When I grew up, we only used bailing twine, not wire... Then, working in a pulp and paper facility, the pulp bails were held together with wire, so I then understood how it was used. Still prefer the twine, though. We'd gather it, tie them end-to-end, get three lengths and braid them to make rope.

                              A Offline
                              A Offline
                              AndrewDavie
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #27

                              When I was growing up, it was No. 8 fencing wire. (NZ has a lot of wire fences) It's just on the edge of being bendable by hand and then use a tool for final tightening. Since it was always on hand, you'd use it to make makeshift repairs from saddles to tractors, as gate latches, snip and sharpen to use as nails, large loop as a tow rope, loop and hang slaughtered sheep on a tree, staple a snapped fanbelt back together...and that's just the things off the top of my head.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • N Nathan Minier

                                My experience there was different, as I went from C++ to Java for a bit. C# was like a breath of fresh air, and LINQ sealed it for me. These things have spoiled me; going back and working in C++ for anything past low-level protocol work feels like a drag. So...yeah. About 7 out of 10 (LINQ solidified that for me).

                                "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." - Benjamin Disraeli

                                H Offline
                                H Offline
                                Herbie Mountjoy
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #28

                                I used to use C++ MFC for everything but when it became merged with .Net I moved on to C#. I still feel a little nostalgic but I seem to have forgotten almost everything I learned. Oh well...

                                We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • S S Houghtelin

                                  glennPattonInThePUB wrote:

                                  spit & bailing wire

                                  That's real old school. :laugh:

                                  It was broke, so I fixed it.

                                  K Offline
                                  K Offline
                                  KC CahabaGBA
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #29

                                  Vines and sticks is REAL old school.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • R realJSOP

                                    My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                                    ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                                    -----
                                    You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                                    -----
                                    When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                                    S Offline
                                    S Offline
                                    Steve Naidamast
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #30

                                    Your question is one of the first signs of realistic thinking in the software profession I have seen in quite a long time. You are quite correct to ask how this or that framework or paradigm will satisfy the requirements you have for a particular project. The majority of the freely available, open source frameworks, no matter the targeted platform are the results of agendas seen by the developers as universal. This may be from experiences they have had while working on other projects, books they may have read, lectures they may have attended, promotions by colleagues, or some combination of the aforementioned. This is not to say that such frameworks are bad; just often limited in what they can provide. As a much older software engineer I see the current rush for new tools, paradigms, and frameworks as a sense of floundering within the profession as even vendors in the Microsoft Community try to promote the latest "silver bullet" to everyone. Interestingly enough, the Java Community does not seem to suffer these same issues to the same extent. If you review the "jaxEnter" community site you will note that much of what is presented are refinements to existing and older technologies that work quite well for their needs. One area where Java developers have excelled at is with the development of the web with the MVC paradigm. This is because this was always the way that Java web applications were developed. However, you also have to understand that the Java Community also grew out of academia and scientific areas where Microsoft was more of a "developer's" vendor from the start. Currently, our side of the fence is littered with tools, frameworks, and paradigms all claiming to be the best and right way to do something. If that is the case how did we accomplish anything back in the 1990s or the early 2000s when such offerings were not really available? What we did was simply use sound concepts to built applications with the basic tools we had. And we did quite well at it. Your question brings up another question then. Would it may be better to return to those basic techniques and skip all the hype? You may find coding much easier, more enjoyable, and less constrained by the limitations of the current psychological pressures to develop in certain ways. I never moved on with the younger crowd when it came to technologies. I still program the way I have always done and with few defects in my work, practically none of which ever make it into production releases. The next time you have

                                    G 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • R realJSOP

                                      My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                                      ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                                      -----
                                      You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                                      -----
                                      When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                                      R Offline
                                      R Offline
                                      rhyous
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #31

                                      For this very reason, I am so happy with the GitHub era. Recently, when I have needed a library, I have found via NuGet and it's source was on GitHub. On a few occasions the library might be buggy. If it is on GitHub, I fork it, fix it, request a pull request. If they don't pull my change, no matter, because I have my own GitHub repo. I can move on with life.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • R realJSOP

                                        My question is what makes you think I know about every library of code that might fill a particular need? Or that it fills MY need? Or that I would rather deal with someone else's bug-ridden code rather than my OWN bug-ridden code? People are really funny. Of course, I could just be too old-school... Maybe it's time to retire...

                                        ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
                                        -----
                                        You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
                                        -----
                                        When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

                                        S Offline
                                        S Offline
                                        sasadler
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #32

                                        Ah, it's nice to be the firmware department where I work. Nobody pushing of the latest framework, language, etc. Just plain old C/C++ and an IDE for me. And the only libraries are the ones I've developed over 40+ years of embedded development and the standard C/C++ libraries.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • S Steve Naidamast

                                          Your question is one of the first signs of realistic thinking in the software profession I have seen in quite a long time. You are quite correct to ask how this or that framework or paradigm will satisfy the requirements you have for a particular project. The majority of the freely available, open source frameworks, no matter the targeted platform are the results of agendas seen by the developers as universal. This may be from experiences they have had while working on other projects, books they may have read, lectures they may have attended, promotions by colleagues, or some combination of the aforementioned. This is not to say that such frameworks are bad; just often limited in what they can provide. As a much older software engineer I see the current rush for new tools, paradigms, and frameworks as a sense of floundering within the profession as even vendors in the Microsoft Community try to promote the latest "silver bullet" to everyone. Interestingly enough, the Java Community does not seem to suffer these same issues to the same extent. If you review the "jaxEnter" community site you will note that much of what is presented are refinements to existing and older technologies that work quite well for their needs. One area where Java developers have excelled at is with the development of the web with the MVC paradigm. This is because this was always the way that Java web applications were developed. However, you also have to understand that the Java Community also grew out of academia and scientific areas where Microsoft was more of a "developer's" vendor from the start. Currently, our side of the fence is littered with tools, frameworks, and paradigms all claiming to be the best and right way to do something. If that is the case how did we accomplish anything back in the 1990s or the early 2000s when such offerings were not really available? What we did was simply use sound concepts to built applications with the basic tools we had. And we did quite well at it. Your question brings up another question then. Would it may be better to return to those basic techniques and skip all the hype? You may find coding much easier, more enjoyable, and less constrained by the limitations of the current psychological pressures to develop in certain ways. I never moved on with the younger crowd when it came to technologies. I still program the way I have always done and with few defects in my work, practically none of which ever make it into production releases. The next time you have

                                          G Offline
                                          G Offline
                                          Greg Lovekamp
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #33

                                          Well said!

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups