Guys, could you please take a look at the project I am working on: http://keybr.com I thought it could be a good touch typing trainer web application.
Well done! Thank you!
Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
81–90 of 106 posts
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#82Guys, could you please take a look at the project I am working on: http://keybr.com I thought it could be a good touch typing trainer web application.
That's a nice app.
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you convince me you're just as fast if you have to look at the keyboard? I bet you'd be faster if you didn't need to.
Can you convince me that the quality of a programmer has anything to do with speed? (At least, to the degree that keyboarding skills would make a measurable difference. I'm not arguing that it's ok to spend all week building a single function.)
When you don't have to think what you're typing, your mind is free to think about the code. The more you think about your code, the better you are.
Image if you had to stop and think to use the mouse.
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you convince me that the quality of a programmer has anything to do with speed? (At least, to the degree that keyboarding skills would make a measurable difference. I'm not arguing that it's ok to spend all week building a single function.)
When you don't have to think what you're typing, your mind is free to think about the code. The more you think about your code, the better you are. Image if you had to stop and think to use the mouse.
Ok, but not thinking about typing comes much earlier than being proficient in typing to the degree mentioned here.
Besides, I don't really think about kicking a soccer ball, but I certainly look at it when I do.
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#85Guys, could you please take a look at the project I am working on: http://keybr.com I thought it could be a good touch typing trainer web application.
I learned to type "correctly" on keybr.com (with a little startup in gtypist). I probably owe you some money :) 50wpm and gaining.
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#86If you need to type that much, to where whether or not you can touch type matters . . . you are doing something wrong. Saying touch typing matters amounts to stating that programming is actually carried out ON THE SCREEN YOU ARE TYPING ON and I could not disagree with that more . . . programming takes place in the mind of the programmer, typing on the screen is a byproduct. I can't wait to see how his argument holds…
programming takes place in the mind of the programmer, typing on the screen is a byproduct As he says in the article, the actual programming is not what requires much typing. It's communicating with others on IRC (or e-mail, whatever you kids use these days), typing documentation, writing blog posts, etc. that require typing skills. I will agree with him on this. I don't type much when actually programming, but I do…
While typed communication IS a very big part of the work related to programming, it is not programming itself, which is what I believe to be important, and what I was referring to.
IRC, email, are secondary in importance.
Documentation and code comments should be concise.
"succinctness = power"
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#87Guys, could you please take a look at the project I am working on: http://keybr.com I thought it could be a good touch typing trainer web application.
It's nicely done!
I'm not sure that I like the fact that the text doesn't mean anything... I guess it's in purpose so that you have to look at the words and not type mechanically for words you know but at the same time, I spend a lot more time figuring out what is going on...
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#88He should not try to hard so be funny. He is not succeeding, he's just drowing his point in superfluous words.
That's like... just your opinion man :)
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#89Accoridng to Mythical Man-Month average programmer produces 2000 LOC per year. Other data I've seen backs this up. Typing speed is not really a problem.
Umm, nice rationalization. But that's 2000 lines of debugged, documented code. It takes a lot more typing than just 2000 x 80 characters. The article basically describes why. Plus he's not talking about "average."
Even if you are 10 times the average that's coming out to 55 lines per day. Seriously, did you ever find your coding constranied by your typing speed?
Re: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret
#90Incidentally, Steve brought up an interesting topic. Musicians practice by playing fast, then slow, then medium. Fast, slow, medium. Over and over. That seems like a good way to write software. You first try to implement your idea as quickly as possible, stopping to think only when necessary. The goal is to not spend too much time overthinking the implementation -- you want to find out if your idea is worth executing…
That's exactly where I thought he was going... I just recently started writing software >40 hours a week, and have been constantly torn between "getting things done" and "doing things right". The best way to program well might very well be a variation between the two modes.
The mantra from eXtreme Programming:
1. Make it work. 2. Make it right. 3. Make it fast. 4. Make it small.
#1 first, then if you have the need, #2. If you have a need, #3. If you have the need, #4.
It's a lot easier to make it right once you've made it work.