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Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

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Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#421

Post by afc »

themodelplumber wrote: post #171
afc wrote: post #156

Probably an unpopular opinion but... Write your own text editor. I've been working on my own ( https://github.com/alefore/edge ) as a side project and using it exclusively for about six years. I don't expect it to be very usable by other people (it's very customized for my workflows, I suppose; e.g., it's mostly useful for writing C++ and Markdown files) but, because I know it inside out (and I've invested in making…

I'm so glad to see this comment. I recently got to the point where I created a text-viewer. Then I realized: This is the weak-sauce version of just admitting I need to write my own editor. My toolset is kind of weird conceptually so nobody else has created "my" editor yet. Haha :-) Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you for your response. I think most people here would disagree, but... I'd totally encourage you to go this route. It has been very fruitful for me.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#422

Post by sriram_malhar »

Aachen wrote: post #408
sriram_malhar wrote: post #237

I keep two diaries, both MS Word documents. In one, I write summaries of what I read about -- papers, blog posts, books, and articles that interest me, along with the google search term, authors, URL, quotable quotes etc. In the other, I put together a free-form running log of projects I am working on, along with feature ideas, benchmark results (and the parameters used to get it),etc. Why MS Word, you ask? I am ordi…

Any reason you emphasize MS Word instead of a word processor in general? The "Why MS Word" doesn't mention anything specific to MS I think.

No, any word processor should do. MS Word is quite frictionless because its document format is a defacto standard.

Of the word processors, I like Apple Pages a lot, and its inline math typesetting supports LaTeX. But it didn't at one time, and I already had a ton of stuff in my Word diary.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#423

Post by mekster »

lukifer wrote: post #121

I can't say enough good things about a multiple clipboard manager. Not only is it useful to copy/paste multiple items in sequence, but it's a game changer to be able to quickly retrieve a code snippet, or URL, or CLI command you used recently; and/or, to trivially stash one just in case you'll want it later. (Primary downside: using a computer without multiple clipboards feels broken. What do you mean it "forgot" the…

Unclutter on macOS is simple and doesn't get in the way as clipboard manager. It also has quick memo feature which I use to keep my to-do list.

These small things are part of the reasons I stick with macOS.

Not sure why in decades, Windows never have these things.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#424

Post by darkerside »

Scarblac wrote: post #404
Joeri wrote: post #360

The things I've benefited from most are not tools but practices. - Question the work Always be questioning whether the thing you're doing really needs to be done. Is there a way to not do it? Is there a way to do something better instead? - Park downhill Before putting a project or incomplete task away, make notes of what the next thing was that you were going to work on. This lets you bypass that 10 minute orientati…

Also: don't question the work. Sometimes it's already a compromise between too many people who questioned it, and nobody wants to discuss it any more. Sometimes the questioning is more work than actually doing it. Sometimes you get a reputation of only being in the way. Make sure the work has been questioned thoroughly, but that doesn't necessarily mean by you.

I love that last line. I think sometimes developers can feel like they can be the hero, stopping the business from going down the wrong path simply because nobody else asked the question. They may even be right! But question your motives. Are you asking questions and throwing up roadblocks to make yourself look and feel important? Or is it purely to make the best business decision?

That's not a leading question. Honestly, both of those goals can be important and effective. But if your goal is to actually effect business change, you'll probably have better luck talking to a product person offline and having the idea come from them.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#425

Post by josinalvo »

llarsson wrote: post #18
lukaszkorecki wrote: post #2

C-r for interactive history search

Not just that. Add this to you inputrc: "\e[A": history-search-backward "\e[B": history-search-forward Now up and down arrows will search your history with whatever you already have typed at the prompt. Re-running a command often? Probably just have to type its first letter and hit up arrow once or twice.

This is AMAZING. Thanks so much!

(fyi, for others: you need not use ctrl-r, just type and press up and down)

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#426

Post by sriram_malhar »

edwinyzh wrote: post #393
edwinyzh wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey! What do you think of my WritingOutliner ( http://writingoutliner.com ) then? Basically it turns Microsoft Word into a powerful outliner.

Or the new DocxManager ( https://docxmanager.com )

No. Looks interesting, but it looks like it is available only on Windows?

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#427

Post by ProZsolt »

Using a modified international English keyboard[1] for programming.

My native language is Hungarian. We have 9 extra letters on the keyboard. Occupying the keys on the right side on the keyboard that used for brackets, semicolons, etc. on the US keyboard. These characters are moved to weird positions[1].

I use the English keyboard most of the time but modified it, so when I hit Caps Lock I can type Hungarian letters.

[1]: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MLA22Z/A/magic-keyboar...

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTZ#Hungary

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#428

Post by gilbetron »

H8crilA wrote: post #165

From my experience - multiple desktops, especially when having multiple monitors (and yes, you should probably get a second monitor). If you don't use desktop switching: the basic idea is to have one desktop per task/bug/project. Lets you context-switch in a very organized manner. If you're using them, good, but you may be surprised how many people don't!

I've been developing for 30+ years and I honestly don't see much of a productivity benefit using multiple monitors. I work differently when I have them, but not necessarily more efficiently. I find the head moving required to use multiple monitors more annoying than just alt-tabbing between windows. The only major exception is if I'm doing intense UI or visualization work and I want to see my code and the output at the same time. But even then, most of the time I can just resize my windows on a single screen.

Different strokes for different folks and all that, but, anecdotally, having been tech lead for various sized groups as well, I never saw a performance boost when people got the multiple monitors they always wanted, either.

I think part of it is that I find building a mental space of what I'm working on is the most important thing, and having tons of screen real estate acts as a replacement for that and thus goes against it, ultimately causing me to perform worse.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#429

Post by DmitryOlshansky »

xenihn wrote: post #338
DmitryOlshansky wrote: post #331

My biggest boosters were: - learning more then a few basic hot keys for zsh (things like ctrl-k, ctrl-r and beyond) - mastering tiling window manager, today I can switch, compose, mix and match windows in a blink of any eye - it used to take seconds - switch to minimal OS setup, tile WM, your basic terminal tool suit, browser + the few apps you actually need (saves you trouble configuring all of that extra crap + upd…

Which tiling window manager do you use?

Started with sway on FreeBSD recently and I love that combo so far.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#430

Post by elbear »

cheerlessbog wrote: post #347
elbear wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing you can try: actually stop after those 5 push-ups. Actually stop after editing that line of the code. The idea is that I need to build tolerance for that task. If you keep at it, those 5 push-ups will become so easy that you will feel compelled to do more. If it's not working, then there's another reason behind the resistance. Maybe what you're trying to do feels pointless. Try to notice your feelings and i…

Or just make the task smaller and smaller. Can’t finish 5? Do 1! Too much? Just get on the floor and hold the position. This strategy can’t fail, as you can always reduce your goal (and next time have to reduce it less)

I agree and it's important, at the same time, not to trick yourself or push yourself. If you don't feel like doing more, don't. With time, you'll want to do more.
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