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Core competencies of great hackers

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Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#41

Post by 10ren »

jwilliams wrote: post #3

Typing speed? Not sure how much code people here write per hour, but I doubt typing speed is a real issue (the ratio of my staring at the screen thinking versus coding is probably 10:1).

I agree, but in practice I feel annoyed by my typos, and not being able to type directly what I think. It's a nice feeling of skill, to dance across the keyboard, with a seamless brain-computer connection. Like playing a video game.

I've tried to learn touch-typing a few times, but it makes my hands sore in a worrying way.

Another resolution is typing more slowly, and not caring so much about typos, since it doesn't really matter.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#42

Post by sofal »

jrockway wrote: post #34
jwilliams wrote: post #3

Typing speed? Not sure how much code people here write per hour, but I doubt typing speed is a real issue (the ratio of my staring at the screen thinking versus coding is probably 10:1).

Typing speed is important for the reason the article mentions -- micro-interruptions. Most of the time, you just have to type a few words, and the editor will complete the rest for you. Fine. But a lot of the time, you are typing a symbol for the first time, and autocompletion doesn't really help. It breaks your flow if you can't type this symbol quickly and correctly the first time. (It is also worth pointing out th…

That reminds me of the reasoning behind wanting faster processors in our personal computers. From one (mistaken) perspective, you could argue that there is no justification for buying a faster processor because it will just be idle for more than 97% of the time you use it. The better argument is that we are justified in desiring a faster processor because the length of the CPU bursts is a much more important metric.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#43

Post by callahad »

kaens wrote: post #11
dan_sim wrote: post #2

I don't want to start a war but I'd say that this list is about the differences between a Windows VS Linux developer. The thing behind what is said is "get your eyes off of the nice UI. Look and type code".

Every "hacker" I've met either: Doesn't use windows. Uses the tools listed in the article on windows. (well, windows equivalents anyhow) I think the message was more of "Know your tools, know them well. Know them, and what they are capable of so that you may wield them to their fullest potential". For software, this involves reading the source when it's available.

The benefits of knowing your tools extend even beyond your personal productivity. Such knowledge often presents opportunities to save the hides of other individuals.

For instance, I'm in a very, very large company (anyone in law, science, or journalism has used our products). I recently saw three separate requests for ~80 hours and $7000 of contractor time each to manually add serialVersionUIDs to serializable Java classes.

Eclipse, which we're paying* IBM to use, has a nice code refactoring tool that makes the entire process three clicks and about 30 minutes of twiddling your thumbs. I saved one and a half months of FTE time, and $20,000 by simply knowing what the tools we were already paying for could do.

*Yes, I'm aware that Eclipse is Free Software; we're using IBM's rebranded Rational Application Developer. Yes, I'd rather use Eclipse and Tomcat instead of RAD and WAS. No, I'm not bitter.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#45

Post by jwilliams »

tom_rath wrote: post #26
jwilliams wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I don't think typing is the most basic tool - It's abstract thought.

Only as far as the carpenter's is knowing where the nail goes.

Not sure I can really argue against the analogy - because you can take it anywhere. e.g. A lumberjack can rip through a tree, but a good carpenter can cut a piece of wood so that it uses the grain, there isn't waste, etc, etc. In the context you're working in, being quicker is never as good as getting it right.

You could argue that a carpenters output is limited by their use of tools. If they can't nail or saw fast enough then no amount of carpentry imagination is going to help.

What I'm saying is that I don't think this is the case for typing and coding. A coder could type quickly and produce reams and reams of really bad code - this is happening every day. Another coder could type 1 wpm and still produce something of immense value every day.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#46

Post by aaronblohowiak »

jwilliams wrote: post #18
tom_rath wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both cases describe a person who has not learned how to properly use the most basic tool for their profession. How could that be excused?

Because I don't think typing is the most basic tool - It's abstract thought.

I think your use of the word "basic" is amusing. I would agree that the most important tool is abstract thought, but it is not the most basic.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#47

Post by potatolicious »

jwilliams wrote: post #3

Typing speed? Not sure how much code people here write per hour, but I doubt typing speed is a real issue (the ratio of my staring at the screen thinking versus coding is probably 10:1).

There's more to code than just code. Most of us write a lot of emails every day, and hopefully most of us write a fair bit of documentation also :)

How efficiently you can communicate with the machine is critical in programming because of the above, not because you're somehow faster at typing code - your brain cannot generate code at 60wpm anyway. Typing quickly, though, certainly takes away barriers to trying new things and prototyping really quickly.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#48

Post by [deleted] »

danielharan wrote: post #38
hairsupply wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We haven't met a single great hacker that relied on an IDE, although we hear they exist." The implication here is completely in the negative. Further, it's like saying "If you want to be a hacker, use English measuring units because we've never any met any great hackers who use the metric system." Just because a bunch of rails hackers don't use an IDE doesn't imply the contrapositive.

I hear they exist, I've just never met them. That could be my sampling bias. None of the people around me relying on IDEs are great hackers. Instead of arguing about what might have been implied in what I wrote, I'd rather you introduced me to people you consider great hackers that use an IDE. Know any?

[deleted]

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#49

Post by wwalker3 »

Great hackers create great works from within, not from their tools or their environment. Their core competencies are things like relentless self-improvement, not the use of a particular editor or a particular OS.

The author's list of core competencies (fast typing, command line, vim, Linux) sounds more like a list of cultural traits.

Re: Core competencies of great hackers

#50

Post by apgwoz »

dazzawazza wrote: post #16

One of my early mentors taught me that "it's not how fast you type but what you type" that matters. I think his lengthy career as a journalist, designer, photographer, M$ engineer, Apple engineer and Google Engineer have proven him correct. The analogy with understanding/familiarity with your tools is weak. The only important tool for an engineer is his brain. (PS I abhor the term hacker)

> The analogy with understanding/familiarity with your tools is weak. The only important tool for an engineer is his brain.

But, an engineer with a great brain and no tools, is weaker. One must communicate thoughts and ideas in order to be great.

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