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Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

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Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#111
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>My "thing I dont know as of 2018", just for good measure: How to build complex front-end applications without making a complete mess of things! If you find anyone that truly knows the answer, please let us know :) I'm sure plenty of people claim to, and many more will just claim that the mere concept is flawed so there's no point, and there are even more non-answers. But the actual problem is very difficult. I remem…

There is a core issue with UI development that makes things harder and less elegant than the backend. It's the io loop. Components must change state and react to state. This where the complexity arises. If you remove the loop by having components only react to state, you will find your programs to be simple, modular and more beautiful. The feedback loop of IO destroys the functional and modular nature of UI. Function…

I don't think many people actively working on front end will agree with passing closures as the best way. "callback hell" is a very common complaint.

What you've discussed above seems to overlap pretty well with both redux and monadic state management like Elm.

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#112
post #73

This is a very good article. What stumps me though is how the 10x engineers/architects make such sound technical choices without knowing a lot of things. I perennially feel ignorant of Computer Science concepts that many others seem to possess. This article helps me to understand it's not only me. But I would still like to make the best tech choices most of the times...But the problem is..WHAT TO LEARN NEXT? THERE'S…

I first started coding professionally in the early 90’s, just as “the web” started to take off. I found myself surrounded by people who talked about the network stack all the time; I put together that there was an important concept called “TCP/IP” in there. So I did what I thought was the most logical thing: I picked up a copy of Richard Steven’s “TCP/IP Illustrated” and read it cover to cover. Then a funny thing happened - I found out I actually knew WAY more about the network stack than all the people around me who were blathering about it non-stop as though they were experts (which I didn’t and still don’t consider myself). That experience has made me take other’s claims of expertise with a grain of salt.

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Never heard of Dan before today. Now he is "a guy on the Internet who writes about programming but doesn't know much about it".

He invented Redux, and is a core contributor to React.

React is on my list of things I don’t know. : )

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#114

I very much enjoy working as a programmer, but, to be honest, there is constantly a little anxiety in the back of my mind that I do not get FP/docker/devops/insert-latest-buzzword-here enough not to look like a clueless coder in a watercooler-side chat with a fellow. So I really appreciated this article, it made me feel better about myself :-)

So what are you going to do about it?

I was formally educated to do low level development, did operating systems, hardware design, and communications for a living for 15 years. During that time I also learned and regularly used FP, data processing, windows GUI, full stack web development. Every year I pick a new tooling language so that I'm not completely tied to one language or paradigm. Every time I have an opportunity to use the right language or tool for the job I learn it and use it.

The whole point of my education process was not to learn C and Assembly, it was to motivate me to he constantly learning. When I wanted a new job I created a "real world problem" to solve, did actual design docs, took courses online, read books, etc. Was able to get a new job in a completely different field, doubling my pay and reducing my work load. That's all due to the fact that if I had a list of stuff I didnt know I'd be out there learning that stuff every waking minute.

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a core issue with UI development that makes things harder and less elegant than the backend. It's the io loop. Components must change state and react to state. This where the complexity arises. If you remove the loop by having components only react to state, you will find your programs to be simple, modular and more beautiful. The feedback loop of IO destroys the functional and modular nature of UI. Function…

I don't think many people actively working on front end will agree with passing closures as the best way. "callback hell" is a very common complaint. What you've discussed above seems to overlap pretty well with both redux and monadic state management like Elm.

Hmm maybe elm isn't really monads. Tried to bullshit there, my bad. https://redux.js.org/introduction/prior-art#elm

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#116
post #9

I don't know anything about the person who wrote this, but I know almost everything they don't know. Am I a much better programmer/engineer than I thought?

LOL I didn’t want to be the first person to say that, so I’m glad you said it. In the spirit of charity, though, I’m sure that his list of the things that he does know overlaps my list of things I don’t know.

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#117
post #114

I very much enjoy working as a programmer, but, to be honest, there is constantly a little anxiety in the back of my mind that I do not get FP/docker/devops/insert-latest-buzzword-here enough not to look like a clueless coder in a watercooler-side chat with a fellow. So I really appreciated this article, it made me feel better about myself :-)

So what are you going to do about it? I was formally educated to do low level development, did operating systems, hardware design, and communications for a living for 15 years. During that time I also learned and regularly used FP, data processing, windows GUI, full stack web development. Every year I pick a new tooling language so that I'm not completely tied to one language or paradigm. Every time I have an opportu…

Do not get me wrong, I am learning constantly and like it that way (now I go through a Haskell textbook and have a few MOOCs in my to-do list), but the thing is, I feel like I am still fighting a losing battle; there is just too many new information out there to understand everything. That is the source of anxiety for me.

Re: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

#118
post #14

This has always felt to me like an inconvenient truth most people are too uncomfortable to voice aloud. Maybe we all fear that we're the singular hapless fool adrift in an industry of savants?

I don’t feel that _I’m_ a hapless fool - I know how much effort I’ve put into learning what I know. I do feel (and have much evidence to support) that all of the non “technical” people that surround me think I’m a hapless fool every time they ask me a question and I don’t know the answer immediately off the top of my head, no matter how many times I did know the answer. I’m surrounded by “product managers” and “agile coaches” who imply that I’d better get everything done in minutes or they’ll “replace me with somebody who does”.
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