The learning rush
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I'm sure most of you get it or you wouldn't be developers. We're always accruing new knowledge not just to keep up but to get ahead. I don't know about you but I'm a sponge. I sustain myself on learning things. It's such a rush to challenge myself to do something new or something better. I went from not being able to wire up a 16-pin hitachi interface LCD to building IoT gadgets with them, all the way to doing it for money in under a month, drawing from a hobby I abandoned for programming back when I was a kid. Now I'm doing both. It's seriously challenging me. I haven't used my brain this much in years. It's one thing to learn more in a field you're already familiar with, like when I learned parsing theory. It's another to learn a different, even if related field. That's what I'm doing now. It's all very fun, but now I worry I'm going to get lost in it to the expense of everything else. Can it be an addiction? I wonder.
Real programmers use butterflies
Not an addiction so much as a desire to know things. I have learned so much since I stopped working, and am always interested in new stuff. The only problem is that my brain is slower these days, and it takes longer for things to sink in, and it needs to be repeated so many times.
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I'm sure most of you get it or you wouldn't be developers. We're always accruing new knowledge not just to keep up but to get ahead. I don't know about you but I'm a sponge. I sustain myself on learning things. It's such a rush to challenge myself to do something new or something better. I went from not being able to wire up a 16-pin hitachi interface LCD to building IoT gadgets with them, all the way to doing it for money in under a month, drawing from a hobby I abandoned for programming back when I was a kid. Now I'm doing both. It's seriously challenging me. I haven't used my brain this much in years. It's one thing to learn more in a field you're already familiar with, like when I learned parsing theory. It's another to learn a different, even if related field. That's what I'm doing now. It's all very fun, but now I worry I'm going to get lost in it to the expense of everything else. Can it be an addiction? I wonder.
Real programmers use butterflies
The older I get the more inquisitive I get, I'm constantly learning new things. Is it an addiction...yes. next thing you'll be trying to get your fridge to talk to your toaster. :)
I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com
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I am currently teaching middle school math to just one student, over Skype, and it is a whole new experience. Just keeping his attention for one full hour is an adventure in itself, but I learn from his mother that it is enriching him.
Excellent! :)
Real programmers use butterflies
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Sander Rossel wrote:
I've definitely worked with code from developers who did not enjoy learning
{
Allow me to be the jerk who says I don't consider them to be developers - at least not competent ones. :~ I could just be being extreme and judgmental though. But I've never worked well with them.
}Sander Rossel wrote:
I rarely learn just for the sake of learning.
{
Maybe I'm just an oddball then. It wouldn't be the first time.
}Sander Rossel wrote:
Since I'm a good friend I want you to learn, so I've compiled one of the best learning resource for you to check out: hidden learning surprise inside!!![^] :-D
{
As you can see, I've taken it to { heart }
At least you didn't Rickroll me. =D
}Real programmers use butterflies
{
This is more than I ever hoped for! // Tears of joy roll down my cheeks.
}Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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The older I get the more inquisitive I get, I'm constantly learning new things. Is it an addiction...yes. next thing you'll be trying to get your fridge to talk to your toaster. :)
I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com
It's true though! :laugh:
Real programmers use butterflies
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{
This is more than I ever hoped for! // Tears of joy roll down my cheeks.
}Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
I did read that article though, and the main point is the same one I think you made, that what if:
if(foo)
bar();
baz(); // always executedTo which I respond that this has never happened to me that I can recall, in part because VS autoformats code and I hit Ctrl-A,K,D regularly. So it's a solution in search of a problem, at least with my personal code. When I am working on a team I code differently, but it also takes me longer and irritates me.
Real programmers use butterflies
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I am currently teaching middle school math to just one student, over Skype, and it is a whole new experience. Just keeping his attention for one full hour is an adventure in itself, but I learn from his mother that it is enriching him.
About 10 years ago I was doing one day a week freelance fixing up a local school's admin system. The IT teacher introduced me to one young 13-yo lad who was keen to learn. I spent my lunch breaks tutoring him at a level way above the rest of his IT class; he was a quick learner and enthusiastic. A couple of weeks ago I checked him on LinkedIn. On leaving school he setup a couple of startups, one working with management of cloud-based security, before getting a developer role with a company building a P2P networking tool for youngsters suffering mental health issues; then a senior engineer role with a predictive marketing company, also involved in the hiring process for his employer. Sometimes the "rush" can be delayed by quite a few years! :) (Not that I can take all the credit for his success - he was the sort of lad who would make it, whatever his circumstances)
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I'm sure most of you get it or you wouldn't be developers. We're always accruing new knowledge not just to keep up but to get ahead. I don't know about you but I'm a sponge. I sustain myself on learning things. It's such a rush to challenge myself to do something new or something better. I went from not being able to wire up a 16-pin hitachi interface LCD to building IoT gadgets with them, all the way to doing it for money in under a month, drawing from a hobby I abandoned for programming back when I was a kid. Now I'm doing both. It's seriously challenging me. I haven't used my brain this much in years. It's one thing to learn more in a field you're already familiar with, like when I learned parsing theory. It's another to learn a different, even if related field. That's what I'm doing now. It's all very fun, but now I worry I'm going to get lost in it to the expense of everything else. Can it be an addiction? I wonder.
Real programmers use butterflies
I do feel wasted the day I do not read/watch something new... And it not all for programming at all...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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I'm 42 *sideeyes Douglas Adams* and I still have the learning rush. No kids though.
Real programmers use butterflies
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I'm 42 *sideeyes Douglas Adams* and I still have the learning rush. No kids though.
Real programmers use butterflies
I'm 56, and still have the learning itch. The problem is that there are many more claims on my time than there were when I was young, single, and childless, so the pile is growing at the bottom faster than I can clear it at the top. :sigh:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
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I'm 56, and still have the learning itch. The problem is that there are many more claims on my time than there were when I was young, single, and childless, so the pile is growing at the bottom faster than I can clear it at the top. :sigh:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
I'm sorry. I am older (than I was at least) married and childless so I have less claims on my time. I suppose I'm blessed in that, but I can also only deal with so much so it's for the best. :sigh:
Real programmers use butterflies
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I'm 67 and still have the learning itch
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
I love seeing your sig flash by me in my notifications because even though I can't see all of it in the little blurb it gives me i immediately know the reference and mentally recite it in Johnny Depp's Hunter voice. (say what you will i thought the movie did HST justice)
Real programmers use butterflies
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I did read that article though, and the main point is the same one I think you made, that what if:
if(foo)
bar();
baz(); // always executedTo which I respond that this has never happened to me that I can recall, in part because VS autoformats code and I hit Ctrl-A,K,D regularly. So it's a solution in search of a problem, at least with my personal code. When I am working on a team I code differently, but it also takes me longer and irritates me.
Real programmers use butterflies
I just found an abomination, purely by coincidence, that had me confused for a moment.
if (something &&
somethingElse)
DoStuff();
else
DoOtherStuff();The indentation doesn't help here! Needless to say, I wanted to add braces and added them above somethingElse, which broke the code :sigh: The point you make has actually happened to me before. I inherited someone else's code and I had to make a change. For some reason, the original programmer added two lines with the same indentation (and VS didn't change it back for me, I think this was VS2010). I added a (conditional) third, but to my surprise it was always executed! Took me a while to find that one :doh:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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I just found an abomination, purely by coincidence, that had me confused for a moment.
if (something &&
somethingElse)
DoStuff();
else
DoOtherStuff();The indentation doesn't help here! Needless to say, I wanted to add braces and added them above somethingElse, which broke the code :sigh: The point you make has actually happened to me before. I inherited someone else's code and I had to make a change. For some reason, the original programmer added two lines with the same indentation (and VS didn't change it back for me, I think this was VS2010). I added a (conditional) third, but to my surprise it was always executed! Took me a while to find that one :doh:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
awwwww. Well maybe its your else statements that are the problem! Don't use else {}[^] :laugh:
Real programmers use butterflies
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awwwww. Well maybe its your else statements that are the problem! Don't use else {}[^] :laugh:
Real programmers use butterflies
Having multiple return statements in a function is another pet peeve of mine. I'm fine with it at the start of a function, like if (parameter == null) return, but not somewhere halfway. I read some code at the top, miss the return statement in the middle, and think I'm getting a wrong result at the end. Only when I actually run the code (and somehow my breakpoint won't hit!) will I see the error in my thinking because the functions returns on me halfway. I recently read some sample code that had like four return statements in some 20-25 line function or something, that's just plain not readable! X| Also, what if my else branch doesn't have to terminate the code? :confused:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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I'm sure most of you get it or you wouldn't be developers. We're always accruing new knowledge not just to keep up but to get ahead. I don't know about you but I'm a sponge. I sustain myself on learning things. It's such a rush to challenge myself to do something new or something better. I went from not being able to wire up a 16-pin hitachi interface LCD to building IoT gadgets with them, all the way to doing it for money in under a month, drawing from a hobby I abandoned for programming back when I was a kid. Now I'm doing both. It's seriously challenging me. I haven't used my brain this much in years. It's one thing to learn more in a field you're already familiar with, like when I learned parsing theory. It's another to learn a different, even if related field. That's what I'm doing now. It's all very fun, but now I worry I'm going to get lost in it to the expense of everything else. Can it be an addiction? I wonder.
Real programmers use butterflies
One of the interesting things I have found after becoming really old is there is so much one could learn that you can be rather selective about what you choose to learn. Unfortunately I don't have the time to learn everything I want to.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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Having multiple return statements in a function is another pet peeve of mine. I'm fine with it at the start of a function, like if (parameter == null) return, but not somewhere halfway. I read some code at the top, miss the return statement in the middle, and think I'm getting a wrong result at the end. Only when I actually run the code (and somehow my breakpoint won't hit!) will I see the error in my thinking because the functions returns on me halfway. I recently read some sample code that had like four return statements in some 20-25 line function or something, that's just plain not readable! X| Also, what if my else branch doesn't have to terminate the code? :confused:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
To be fair I don't agree with that article. But I also feel like creating workable (as in readable/maintainable) code is an organic process. If you try to force it it impedes productivity and becomes counterproductive. I think at least, unless you need (and are willing to spend the overhead) to work in a mid to large team it's different, but on my own or in small groups it's in my experience best to let experience teach you how to code, and say screw the thinkpieces that people write simply to make themselves seem smart. For different people what maintainable readable code looks like is going to be different, but find something that works well *for you* and do that. I never get tripped up on braceless ifs, so it's not a peeve of mine. I however, *loathe* over factoring, such as using design patterns just to use them, or creating a class where one function would do. Why? Because I find it impossible to navigate. But you know what? That code can map directly to a UML diagram and my code can't, so I should drink a tall frosty glass of STHU because that code has its advantages. I also don't like interfaces i am expected to work against to come without XML DOC COMMENTS!! But that's because i have to work with that code. Otherwise I could not care. My point is, we all have our peeves, and different styles and such, but unless i have to code against your work I don't care what it looks like. I hope *you* do though, if that makes sense.
Real programmers use butterflies
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To be fair I don't agree with that article. But I also feel like creating workable (as in readable/maintainable) code is an organic process. If you try to force it it impedes productivity and becomes counterproductive. I think at least, unless you need (and are willing to spend the overhead) to work in a mid to large team it's different, but on my own or in small groups it's in my experience best to let experience teach you how to code, and say screw the thinkpieces that people write simply to make themselves seem smart. For different people what maintainable readable code looks like is going to be different, but find something that works well *for you* and do that. I never get tripped up on braceless ifs, so it's not a peeve of mine. I however, *loathe* over factoring, such as using design patterns just to use them, or creating a class where one function would do. Why? Because I find it impossible to navigate. But you know what? That code can map directly to a UML diagram and my code can't, so I should drink a tall frosty glass of STHU because that code has its advantages. I also don't like interfaces i am expected to work against to come without XML DOC COMMENTS!! But that's because i have to work with that code. Otherwise I could not care. My point is, we all have our peeves, and different styles and such, but unless i have to code against your work I don't care what it looks like. I hope *you* do though, if that makes sense.
Real programmers use butterflies
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Not Aristotle, apparently That only goes for my style though. The actual program tends to change and I change my view of how I want my code to flow. For example, a program I made three years ago still has the traditional three tier architecture. It's completely over factored I think (now, it made sense three years ago). I have one tier that gets entities from the database and puts it in domain classes (not entities, those are DB specific) and then the middle tier passes it on to the controller and the controller translates it to a view model. The middle tier is completely empty most of the time and the domain classes don't do anything either. It's just there because X| To make things worse, since it's all pretty much the same code, I've created some generic base classes that create generic expression trees, so that my data layer can generically query any entity. I may have gone a bit overboard on that one :laugh: My code from last year follows a simpler design, entities are translated directly into view models (and vice versa) and it all happens in the controller. I still have some generic code, but not in my database code. I prefer copy/paste and seemingly duplicity in the name of maintainability. My past project has taught me that just because I have the technical know-how does not mean I have to use it :laugh: I've also been told ex-coworkers (especially the anti-learn) still struggle reading my code (so it's totally worth it!) :laugh: :D The fun part is, that when you look at my naming conventions, member placement, project and class layout, etc. nothing has changed in those past few years :D
honey the codewitch wrote:
unless i have to code against your work I don't care what it looks like. I hope *you* do though, if that makes sense.
I know what you mean. I do care about what your code looks like. I go to bed with it and I wake up with it. Those darned braceless if-statements! :laugh: Or maybe that wasn't what you meant... :rolleyes:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azu
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Not Aristotle, apparently That only goes for my style though. The actual program tends to change and I change my view of how I want my code to flow. For example, a program I made three years ago still has the traditional three tier architecture. It's completely over factored I think (now, it made sense three years ago). I have one tier that gets entities from the database and puts it in domain classes (not entities, those are DB specific) and then the middle tier passes it on to the controller and the controller translates it to a view model. The middle tier is completely empty most of the time and the domain classes don't do anything either. It's just there because X| To make things worse, since it's all pretty much the same code, I've created some generic base classes that create generic expression trees, so that my data layer can generically query any entity. I may have gone a bit overboard on that one :laugh: My code from last year follows a simpler design, entities are translated directly into view models (and vice versa) and it all happens in the controller. I still have some generic code, but not in my database code. I prefer copy/paste and seemingly duplicity in the name of maintainability. My past project has taught me that just because I have the technical know-how does not mean I have to use it :laugh: I've also been told ex-coworkers (especially the anti-learn) still struggle reading my code (so it's totally worth it!) :laugh: :D The fun part is, that when you look at my naming conventions, member placement, project and class layout, etc. nothing has changed in those past few years :D
honey the codewitch wrote:
unless i have to code against your work I don't care what it looks like. I hope *you* do though, if that makes sense.
I know what you mean. I do care about what your code looks like. I go to bed with it and I wake up with it. Those darned braceless if-statements! :laugh: Or maybe that wasn't what you meant... :rolleyes:
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You are too funny. I mean that. Too funny by half. ;P I want people to take pride in their own code. If they do, and they respect the craft their code will reflect that, style differences aside. That's what I meant.
Real programmers use butterflies
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You are too funny. I mean that. Too funny by half. ;P I want people to take pride in their own code. If they do, and they respect the craft their code will reflect that, style differences aside. That's what I meant.
Real programmers use butterflies
Believe it or not, but I actually knew what you meant. I'm just trolling you :laugh:
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
