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Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

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Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#21
post #9
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Junior devs should still read to learn how to write the code. Surely the desired state isn't that nobody knows how to write code any more right?

Do you know how to operate a punch card?

Do you let your Jenkins re-inference your entire program from markdown files on each push?

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#22

Nobody uses a horse and cart as an every day method of commuting anymore.

It's a bit different than that analogy would suggest. Learning things piecemeal can leave strange gaps in one's knowledge, in my experience. A book is often much quicker.

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#23
Beyond the slowing you to type, the key part of the good books was the considered and mindful order of presentation. This is what had me spending money when I could get the reference manual for free - a guide, a book that taught me unfamiliar concepts in top down fashion, and took some degree of responsibility to be both accessible and comprehensive.

I love the tutoring of LLM, but to this day as a complement to a guided book. I don't find such guided books in computer science much anymore sadly, but for now I still do it in other venues - French, Biology Astrophysics and such. I grab a book, and then use LLM to supplement my reading as my mind always has a myriad questions :).

Not entirely sure why computer science is so radically different - maybe because things change and get obsolete too fast? At any rate, cuddling with a book is still my favourite way to learn a new topic, much as I spend 12 hrs a day eagerly typing and staring at the screen as well :).

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#24
I've not read a programming book for years, even before LLMs came on the scene. Didn't see the need to when there's so much information online.

These days, I don't use LLMs for actual programming but will ask them questions in lieu of doing a web search. It's like documentation I can chat to. Basically a more efficient blog post or book chapter that happens to be dedicated to whatever it is I'm working on.

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#25

It's a shame because to guide a coding agent, you need to have the right grammar and vocabulary to describe what you want and how you want it to be built. Junior devs should read not because they need to know how to write the code, but they need to know the vocabulary and the grammar to guide the agents.

And to operate a self-driving car safely you need to keep your attention on the road so you can take over quickly when needed.

But that's not how human nature works. Most people take the path of least resistance. Especially when the primary purpose of the invention is to offer convenience.

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#26
post #20

> Stack Overflow is receiving about 3,800 questions a month The crazy thing is that SO is dying so quickly that it's already under half that amount. https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/1926661#g...

Too early to call, but that is a crazy stat. Wow.

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#27
This corporate messaging of "just use AI, cut as many corners as possible, only retain the essential people and force them to sling slop 7 days a week" is unsustainable.

It's wrong for so many reasons. It disrupts talent pipelines. The staff+ people probably don't want to work twice as hard to cover the cut headcount. In general, people prefer to work on systems that are well architected and not some slop that got vibe coded up in a weekend.

They (corporate upper management) could've just done nothing and the end result would've been better than whatever the fuck is happening right now

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#28
post #9
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Junior devs should still read to learn how to write the code. Surely the desired state isn't that nobody knows how to write code any more right?

Do you know how to operate a punch card?

If I transported you to the 1960s and gave you a wizard that could punch cards for you with a chance of making a mistake, would you still bother to learn how to operate a punch card?

What would you do if the wizard gets stuck? Coarse the wizard into making the black box work through somebody else's direct perspective on the problem?

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#29
post #9
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Junior devs should still read to learn how to write the code. Surely the desired state isn't that nobody knows how to write code any more right?

Do you know how to operate a punch card?

[dead]

Re: Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore

#30
My career kicked into high gear some time around 2008. I saw somewhere online where a publisher was seeking a volunteer book reviewer / junior editor.

I volunteered, did the best job I could, and posted an honest review via blog. I got more review requests, and a few other publishers contacted me for the same.

I didn’t really master much, because I didn’t put hands on keyboard for a lot of it. But I got a good view of the technical landscape, and I accumulated a nice paperback library.

Before too long, the free books became free ebooks and some of my contacts needed renewing as natural career progression took place. I let my ‘hobby’ die off as I dug deeper in the topics that interested me.

So that era passed. I still have several books with my name in the credits, sort of a souvenir set from the time.

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