You just skim over the API docs and learn the APIs. Grep can help look things up. Depends a lot on how many new APIs one is using and how non-trivial their implementations are.
Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
31–40 of 652 posts
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#32Just take a pen and a sheet of paper and see how far you can get.
I do this exercise once year, just for fun. Would recommend.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#33I like syntax highlighting and basic automatic indenting, but not much beyond that. I can't stand autocomplete if there's an automatic popup. I tried some LSP stuff and it was quite nice but I couldn't turn off some features in my editor and they distracted me. The thing I really can't stand is automatic closing of parentheses!
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use Rust, so explicit imports are required. However, I fail to understand this point > You’ll learn where all the reference docs live for your language, libraries, and frameworks, and along the way you’ll learn more by actually reading the docs. With neovim/LSP, I have a key binding (Kg) that opens a small window within the editor with the rustdocs. Not only this is faster than going to the browser, typing the type…
Do you have your neovim config public?
Not really, as I have API keys and other stuff in it unprotected. However, I used this as a base (https://github.com/ayamir/nvimdots) and heavily modified it. There is a user directory (lookup the user_template) where you can config everything out of the base.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#35You should try turning off those features yourself for at least a month and see what happens ;) You’ll learn the answers yourself, much better than us trying to explain them. You’ll learn where all the reference docs live for your language, libraries, and frameworks, and along the way you’ll learn more by actually reading the docs. You’ll learn the value of good project organization and file naming, and explicit impo…
And then you'll turn it back on and feel the lifting of a significant mental burden.
Autocomplete has never been about the speed of typing things, and always about finding and recalling abstractions that you sort of know but haven't committed to strong memory yet.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#36Auto-closing tags. hate them. I go to encapsulate something in quotes and it just tosses a closed quote right next to it, incorrectly. They perpetually make the wrong move.
All the "smart systems" are equally annoying. The auto-comment generators are just trash. They just add noise like this:
# Object receives something
object.receive(something)
And then there is the "smart indent" systems that seem to always guess incorrectly.
These systems are like a 4 year old trying to help you wash the dishes. I don't know how you people deal with it.
I coded for years on a line editor (ed). It was probably faster coding then whatever I'm using today. That thing was basically gestures moving at the speed of thought.
grumble grumble, kids these days.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#37I prefer autosuggest to autocomplete. And I didn't like copilot, doesn't seem to work very well for embedded code, though it's been a while since I've tried it. LSPs are useful.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#38You should try turning off those features yourself for at least a month and see what happens ;) You’ll learn the answers yourself, much better than us trying to explain them. You’ll learn where all the reference docs live for your language, libraries, and frameworks, and along the way you’ll learn more by actually reading the docs. You’ll learn the value of good project organization and file naming, and explicit impo…
I use Rust, so explicit imports are required. However, I fail to understand this point > You’ll learn where all the reference docs live for your language, libraries, and frameworks, and along the way you’ll learn more by actually reading the docs. With neovim/LSP, I have a key binding (Kg) that opens a small window within the editor with the rustdocs. Not only this is faster than going to the browser, typing the type…
If you browse through the doc, you will find yourself reading the doc.
If your code editor looks up the doc, you find yourself reading what the code editor shows you.
Wikipedia, (real) historians have some aversion to using it. No argument, it is convenient.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#39I usually code with VIM. I work in many different languages and repos simultaneously. Python, TypeScript, C++, Kotlin, etc. Sometimes I need to ssh into a server and code there because I can't build AOSP on my Mac laptop. I sometimes find autocomplete helpful, but I can't be bothered to keep it working across all of these environments.
Re: Ask HN: Programmers who don't use autocomplete/LSP, how do you do it?
#40I have jumped around over my career: Sublime -> Vim -> Emacs -> VSCode -> Neovim -> Cursor, which is now my daily driver. However, I still relish in the ability to open up a nerfed Sublime or basic Vim install where it’s just me and the text. I do so when I want particular lucidity in my thought process and code composition. Then I can always fire up heavier tools for code review after the fact. How do I “do” it? I g…
I've found cursor tends to muck up system internals and such when I use shells in it. There is a lot going on under that hood -- would prefer it work as a VS Code extension so it has some guardrails.