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Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

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Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#181

Post by dinkleberg »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #179
dinkleberg wrote: post #178

Finally understanding the appeal of static typed languages after doing a project in Go using Goland. I always thought I loved the freedom of python and JavaScript (and I still do to some extent, you’ll have to take Django from my cold dead hands). But the power of static type becomes super clear when you’re using a great IDE. I can hit a hot key when hovering over any function and it’ll show me the docs and take me t…

Whoa I was with you up to the last line. Static typed languages have been around for decades. Go is a very, very recent addition. It hasn't shown squat.

Should’ve said “it has shown me”. I know there are many great choices out there, it’s just the first one that has sunk in with me.

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#182

Post by JoeAltmaier »

dinkleberg wrote: post #181
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa I was with you up to the last line. Static typed languages have been around for decades. Go is a very, very recent addition. It hasn't shown squat.

Should’ve said “it has shown me”. I know there are many great choices out there, it’s just the first one that has sunk in with me.

Fair enough.

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#183

Post by josgraha »

josgraha wrote: post #180

my aha moment as a developer - I would learn some technology to a point where it does what I want - I take what I learned to some new technology but find myself doing things from what I learned in other technologies - this puts me in a strange loop where reality wasn't lining up with my expectations or I would do things that were more work than necessary because of learned habits - the aha moment was when i started l…

this might be a bit vague so to put another way perhaps I learned to zoom in before zooming out, and once I have done something, it never hurts to zoom in again and see what can be gleaned from the assertions I was making about the world at the time. in practice some things I have learned to ask myself are

- what is the shape of the input data (requirements, configuration, dependencies are also data) of the thing I'm working with and what is the shape I'm looking to produce as output of this software (could be any combination of side effects, screens, or just data)?

- on a larger feature or set of features i look for a domain language to be discovered or did I create a domain language and does it hold true?

- what are the fundamental assumptions I was making and could they be improved from first principles?

- what is the expected and unexpected behavior of what I am building today or what I built in the past and why? (learning opportunities)

- the takeaways are my assertions are only as good as my understanding and understanding requires detail, attention to detail is only as good as my checklist, and my checklist is only as good as the questions I'm asking, this helps create a habit loop where I can hopefully improve outcomes with each iteration based on deeper introspection

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#184

Post by jhonnycano »

daxfohl wrote: post #55

Watching a coworker and his Zettelkasten notes. Junk that he did three years ago, just pulling them right up, finding everything related in a couple keystrokes, and reproducing the results. Unlike my lame attempts to keep notes that I can never find again.

Did you remember what software did he use? I have been looking for some solution with this "methodology" but has not been able to find something satisfactory 4 me. tks in advance!

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#185

Post by muhidin »

Regenschirm wrote: post #130

- My team lead showed me code which i wrote just two years ago and i didn't believe at first, that i wrote that crappy. - When i realized that someone might quit his/her job in his trail phase. It did not occure too me that both sides are checking if its fun/good for them - The main reason why i'm successful is that, besides my character flaws (which did become better over the last 15 years), good software engineeres…

- Don't complain if shit is shitty. Either change it, try to change it, accept it, or quit. Stop telling others thats it shitty and do nothing.

Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#186

Post by shivenigma »

1. When I finally understood how event loop in Javascript works for the very first time, I had an Aha moment on the language design.

2. When I read about how garbage collection works in V8 Javascript engine, I had an aha moment about how hard things are just one layer below my working area.

3. When I started learning Rust, had another aha about how the language is designed without GC. I never thought that was possible in a language.

These maybe simple things for many, but I have no educational background in any of these, so I'm amazed by things that people actually got used to.

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#187

Post by dipiert »

1) Some people don't share your passion for software. They consider this like just another job, they are not interested in improvement as long as they can do daily programming tasks. That's ok.

2) It's not enough that an idea makes sense to you to communicate it. People usually hate changes, you need to understand all the details before opening your mouth.

3) I remember many a-ha moments regarding how the Internet works while reading "Computer networks" by A. Tanembaum.

4) When I was finally able to exit vim.

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#188

Post by Megalepozy »

blazeWayne wrote: post #174
Megalepozy wrote: post #120

Finding Anki after 17 years of programming and commiting to insert every new data into it and practice it daily. For me there is no other way of learning anymore and it serve as my real memory. Basically it give me the confidence that something that I learn now will be known years later.

Can you share a real example? How do you use it? What tools do you employ?

Sure thing! (and sorry for the late reply :))

Anki is a program which allow you to learn/memorize by using a Spaced repetition technique where newly introduced and more difficult "ideas/notes" are shown more frequently, while older and less difficult ones are shown less frequently in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect. More about the technique at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition

I use it for everything that I learn which I also want to know in the future, this range from CS related knowledge like a new algorithm that I learn to an English word which I don't know to even remembering the main concepts from books that I read or names of people that I meet.

The flow goes something along the lines of: 1. Learn something new till you actually understand it 2. Summarize it to a note or few notes with proper questions (in a way this stage reminds me the Feynman method) 3. Find/Create (by create and find I mainly just do screenshots or just save pre-made images... ;)) some pictures (if applicable) as adding visuals enhance memory capabilities 4. Insert it into Anki!

Admittedly this flow demands way more time and energy from "just listening/reading" some content, but after so many years of programming I found that I learned so much but forgot most of it... so I prefer to learn better and slower, and honestly after doing this for around 1-2 years now I got to say that it's absolutely amazing (I tell it to anyone who is willing to listen not only to programmers).

There is also a daily practice where you need to pass through some notes (this is the memory spaced repetition part), this usually take anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes a day (for me and based on how intense I am learning during the last period).

You can download Anki for free and with no subscription fees at https://apps.ankiweb.net/ It also support Linux/PC/Mac/Android/iOS (the iOS version cost money).

Re: Ask HN: As a developer what are your aha moments?

#189

Post by greenleaf3 »

Regenschirm wrote: post #130

- My team lead showed me code which i wrote just two years ago and i didn't believe at first, that i wrote that crappy. - When i realized that someone might quit his/her job in his trail phase. It did not occure too me that both sides are checking if its fun/good for them - The main reason why i'm successful is that, besides my character flaws (which did become better over the last 15 years), good software engineeres…

> -- No

This is one thing I need to learn to say. I have been doing lots of stuff other devs want and hating myself for not being able to say no.

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