I do this a lot. I really like to use pen and paper, I think it has a more relaxed and focused pace than typing on a keyboard sometimes. I wish it was actually possible to code this way, but all programming languages are designed to be typed on a keyboard, and it's kind of tedious to write actual code with pen and paper. I wonder how a programming language designed to be written by hand would look like.
How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
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Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#72It's fun to see someone else that does this! I also write code with pen and paper. Mainly for work, but I have good memories of a holiday with a notepad and The Little Schemer (with a long till receipt to cover up the answers column). Similarly I sometimes code review by printing out diffs and writing on them. I like the tactile side of writing, and the spatial freedom. Also I just find it easier to think away from a…
Scheme/Lisp seems to be a great representation for this, the author suggests diagrams and text, which I assume is optimal for most things, but sometimes it's helpful to write pseudo-code and it seems to me that S-expressions are almost friction less in that regard, especially since it provides visual structure without having to (re-)format code too much, but also because of the minimal syntax.
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I tried pencils but I find text written pencils to be too faint. I find it uncomfortable to read. But pen writes text in bright blue color which is more pleasing to read.
You have to read up on "Lead Grades" used in Pencils; use 2B or 4B (or higher) to get dark, clear and smooth writing. Another factor to choose is the "Lead Diameter"; use 0.7mm(ballpoint fine)/0.9mm(ballpoint medium) for thicker lines. See https://www.jetpens.com/blog/The-Best-Lead-Grade-For-Every-A... https://www.jetpens.com/blog/Mechanical-Pencil-Lead-Size-Com... and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73gZFjIAHtw
Do you have a recommendation for pens?
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#74How about third party libraries? I mean you can remember the APIs or you write a placeholder that says this function will be provided by some third party libs. Or what you work on is pure vanilla code?
Writing code on paper doesn't work very well for APIs you're not very familiar with. But she apparently knows the Arguments API well enough to write out calls to it without rereading the manual.
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#75Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#76HN old-timers probably remember 'edw519, who sadly isn't commenting much anymore. One of the things he is known for is for extensive use of pen/pencil and paper in his programming work - the second part of his day involves printing out listings of whatever code he's working on, and working on them away from the computer.
There's a collection of edw519's best comments here: http://static.v25media.com/edw519_mod.html - CTRL+F "paper" will show many answers in which he talks about how he works with it.
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#77I use visual studio because I live in 2021
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#78My Algorithms professor in uni used to say something like "back in my days, we only got one shot at completing our exercise lists, because you had to physically walk down to the computer room and hand over your program in a punch card, and then as a student you were low priority in the compilation queue, so the whole thing could take weeks."
I had several mostly pen and paper courses because the professors preferred that to lab assignments. This was 2009.
They have a point. If you don't have an instantaneuos REPL, you'll probably think harder about what you are writing.
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#79I accidently discovered the benefits of writing code on pencil and paper some years ago when I was looking for a career change. I picked up a C book that had exercises in it but only had time to go through the book during my commute on the metro. Because I worked in a SCIF I couldn't take any electronics with me to work. So I would read a section the night before, go to bed, and churn out the lab solutions in a notebook on the metro. At the time I thought these circumstances were slowing my progress. Once my circumstances changed and I had the time to do everything with two monitors and every IDE on the internet, I was bogged down.
I am not a developer, but occassionally need to write code. I always go to the paper first now.
Re: How I Write Code: Pen and Paper
#80This may seem pedantic, but this is an aspect of project management. The pen and paper aren't in the coding, they're in the design. You may be doing some abstractions/pseudo code on paper but you're not coding. You're planning. There's nothing wrong with this! I think it's a great way to operate. But it's less sexy to say "How I Plan: Pen and Paper" then to conflate it with coding. Everyone does planning. Some people…
As someone who's worked a fair bit now - coding has absolutely no value to any company. What delivers results is deploying solutions - whether those solutions are powered by hotpockets and red bull at 3AM or whether they are entirely composed of meetings discussing how to inform customers of the change - it is never "coding" that solves a problem. "Coding" is at most the effort of transcribing a solution from your br…
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