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Forty years of programming

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Re: Forty years of programming

#141

Post by cassepipe »

pylua wrote: post #90
jodrellblank wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ctrl-[ It's not bad, but not all that comfortable on my left hand pinky finger.

That’s it! I have come to use this without thinking and I have not noticed any discomfort.

I experienced the same thing in another aspect of my life. My light switches at home can't light the room with just one switch for some reason. Each time I want to enter a room, I have to write LIT in morse with the switch. It was a bit weird at the beginning but now I got used to the pattern and I can do it under two seconds and I have not noticed any discomfort.

Re: Forty years of programming

#142

Post by jmkni »

mjoin wrote: post #17
bobobob420 wrote: post #14

Only 1 monitor for 40 years? p impressive

i'm the same. i don't understand why some fellow programmers need multiple monitors: one is already plenty enough for me. (i'm using a tiling window manager, switching back and forth between different workspaces, having another monitor would require moving my head while i can instantly switch to another workspace from my fingertips)

A couple of years ago my setup was three 27" 1440p monitors, these days I am down to one 13" laptop screen and am way more productive! With all that screen real estate, it's way too easy to have your "work" on two of the screens, then Reddit/Hacker News on the the third screen and kid yourself that you are "working".

Re: Forty years of programming

#143

Post by _TwoFinger »

spit2wind wrote: post #106

Stenography is the most ergonomic method of computer input I am aware of. Stenography is a mapping of some combination of keys to some output. A particular mapping is called a "theory". One such mapping is phonetics, or the sounds of words. Let one key represent the "Kuh" sound, another "ah", and a third "tuh". Press them all down and when released, you get "cat". "Al" "Guh" "Or" "If" "Um" "Algorithm". 5 strokes inst…

For prose, it probably is the best, but have you tried it for programming? I find that my keyboard usage is dominated by text-editing shortcuts and punctuation characters. Not sure how well stenography would fit in.

On a similar note, though, I have amassed a "dictionary" of 50+ bash aliases, 1-, 2-, or 3-characters long.

Some "theories" emerged as well - I have groups of aliases whose names follow a pattern and depend on what subcommand (e.g. in git or kubectl) or options are included in the alias. This is good for mnemonics.

For extremely common commands, I ditch mnemonics and just choose a 1- or 2-character name that has no connection to the name of the command. For example r='cd -'. I chose "r" simply because it's on the opposite side of Enter, and I get to alternate my hands. (I guess this is a "brief".)

What got me into the alias hoarding business was the discovery of complete-alias[1] and, later, the progcomp_alias bash option. Turned out, you don't have to choose between aliases and programmable completion, you can have both.

[1]: https://github.com/cykerway/complete-alias

Re: Forty years of programming

#144

Post by phero_cnstrcts »

SulphurCrested wrote: post #130

This is going to be controversial, but what saved me was abandoning a keyboard-intense environment (emacs + command line) for Apple’s Xcode. I do still build much of the time at the command line, but editing code and switching between windows is mouse-heavy.(You can use Xcode as just a text editor if you like.) I cut and paste by selecting with the mouse where possible. I have a gaming mouse with a button programmed…

Having to use the mouse frustrates me. Have you tried an ergonomic keyboard?

Re: Forty years of programming

#145

Post by xmcqdpt2 »

CapsAdmin wrote: post #101

I'm only 33 but never had any issues with joint pains or anything like that whereas my peers, some younger and some older struggle with this and use various methods like ergonomic keyboards, massage sessions, stretching, etc to help ease the pain. I've used a traditional mouse and keyboard since I was around 7 and can easily spend a whole day in front of my computer. Lately I've been wondering if it's simply just my…

I think it's also just individual differences. Some people are naturally more prone to RSI than others.

I get a bit of pain from long typing, especially writing prose, but it usually resolves itself pretty quick. However I knew a guy during my PhD who was like 30, used arm braces, a standing desk, ergonomic keyboard and mouse and took regular break on a timer AND was under lots of pain. That's bad genetic luck.

Re: Forty years of programming

#146

Post by xorcist »

xelxebar wrote: post #29
xorcist wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one sentence that isn't meaningful to the text, and that's the one you wish to comment on? I started programming a few years later, maybe at 8 or so, but I would absolutely call that programming. I still have the note pads somewhere. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's a beginner's first steps on a computer that does not exist.

Wait. You started out by scribbling down programs on a notepad and no computer? That's both adorable and inspiring. Were you working with BASIC? I'm super curious what this was like for you.

Adorable? Maybe. Probably also a little bit weird. But kids are like that, they can be a bit weird sometimes. Translating square paper pixel graphics to decimal numbers and writing them down is not everyone's idea of fun.

It was during the first home computer revolution. My library had books on the subject which were intriguing, including the legendary "BASIC Computer Games". Those were written for several different computers, which didn't matter since I didn't know anybody who had them. But soon several of my friends got C64s and we could rewrite them for those.

Which was fun. Maybe not a common pastime back then but not unheard of either. Kids love to experiment and this was just one way of doing that. But it was definitively programming. There's wasn't much else to do with a home computer apart from what few games you had access to.

This reminds me, there was magazines in the regular shops which contained source code listings of programs, including simple games with graphics declared as decimal constants. Before modems that was how many people got their software. Since you had to type them in by hand, it was very natural to make modifications.

Re: Forty years of programming

#147

Post by xmcqdpt2 »

apitman wrote: post #36

I started experiencing similar forearm pain a few years ago. The split keyboard seemed to help a ton. I also programmed[0] an Arduino with two foot pedals. Left pedal for CTRL, right for SHIFT, both for ALT. Worked wonders. I mostly have the pain manageable now, but it still flares up sometimes, and it was really scary there for a while wondering if I might have to stop programming. To you young guns out there, an ou…

I remapped the modifiers on my keyboard such that the bottom row is

Win - Alt - Ctrl - Space - Ctrl - Alt - Win

This is so that I can use my thumbs for Ctrl and index fingers for Alt. I taught myself to use the opposite side modifiers every time (using the right control for Ctrl-S).

This got rid of the vast majority of unergonomic keystrokes for me.

Re: Forty years of programming

#148

Post by alentred »

Zamiel_Snawley wrote: post #72
cassepipe wrote: post #52

Dear Vim beginner, before getting a fancy keyboard, do remap Esc to some other key. It makes no sense to have your most important key where it is nowadays. The reason the back to normal mode key is ESC is because that key used to be much closer from the home row. My personal preference is to use Caps Lock because each OS has an easy solution for this simple remap and since it's system wide you can use vim modes elsew…

Caps lock is such a waste of prime keyboard real estate, even for non-vim users! For those who don’t use vim, just switching caps lock and control is probably better so you can copy and paste with less contortion. For vim users, I highly recommend remapping caps lock to be control when held, and escape when tapped.

> caps lock to be control when held, and escape when tapped

Ooh, nice! How do you map it in Vim? Or in MacOS?

I always remap caps lock to control because, Vim or not, I still need control-something all the time. But I always wanted to remap esc to something closer to the home row, but never did since caps lock was already taken :) How do you map the held/tapped keys separately?

Re: Forty years of programming

#149

Post by Clubber »

I found using a gel pad in front of the keyboard and mouse cured my issues. I was having wrist problems where I got a lot of pain doing bench press or pushups or any pressure against my hands. I discovered this around 10 years ago.

Re: Forty years of programming

#150

Post by lproven »

There's an elephant in this room. Are you all ignoring it deliberately?

Reading all these comments from people about what they do/don't do. Nobody seems to address the giant stinking pachyderm: are you right or left handed?

Left handers have to exercise their right hands, because of all the kit made for the right-handed majority. Almost all these fancy vertical mice are right-hand only. In fact most mice are RH only. I sometimes use a cheap 2nd hand gamer mouse I bought for when my main one's batteries die: it's RH-only.

Digital cameras? All RH only. Most mobile phones? Mainly for RHers.

We sinister types must use our right. Most right handers barely use their left.

20Y ago, in my mid-30s, I switched to mousing right-handed at home. I'm a leftie, but I worked in support for 15-20 years and I had to use customers' machines the way they were configured. Usually that means mouse on the right. I could but didn't on my own because they're mine.

An ex suggested switching and it really balanced my hand usage. Gave my tired sore left a rest, made my under-utilised right pick up the slack.

I also trained myself to clean my teeth with my right, to practice my coordination.

Never mind rock climbing or whatever. Nobody needs to climb a wall to get to work. But pretty much everyone needs to clean their teeth.

Learn to use your left hand for more. Learn to mouse with it, or use your touchpad or whatever. Learn to clean your teeth with it.

Spread that load out. Even the workload on your hands and wrists, and they'll thank you for it over the decades.

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