Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Developer's block

underlap.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 106 posts

Re: Developer's block

#91

Post by dehrmann »

dgan wrote: post #2

Rolled my eyes on "For experts only: don't do it yet". Shut-up already. I will do it right now because it will nag me forever and then surface will grow, and every time the new code interacts whith what-could-ve-been-optimized I will spend 5min thinking if I should already optimize it

I used to work on FAANG-scale optimizations. Generally, the only code-level optimizations worth bothering with are ones with inefficient (think O(n^2) vs O(n) and caching) algorithms. Those get you because they work during testing, but fall over in prod. You should also optimize DB and RPC access patterns when appropriate. As things scale, there can be larger architectural changes that help. Finally, there are cute micro optimizations that everyone thinks will matter. They don't.

Re: Developer's block

#92

Post by TheBigSalad »

Stratoscope wrote: post #87
Martin_Silenus wrote: post #17

Sleep. Best side task for your brain. How many times has this happened to me? You struggle with a feature or a bug, you think about it, you weigh the pros and cons for hours... because you don't want to start something that will set you back. You're tired, but you don't want to go to sleep until you've at least made a decision for tomorrow. Go to sleep. Now. Then you wake up knowing immediately what to do. You hardly…

I've shared this before, but it seems relevant here: Several years ago a Facebook recruiter invited me to interview with them. It mostly went well, except I bombed the leetcode algorithm quiz. The next day, as I expected, they sent me a polite note thanking me for interviewing but they would be moving on with other candidates. The morning after that, I woke up and before I opened my eyes I saw the complete solution o…

This was me but it happened 2s after the interview.

Re: Developer's block

#93

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

siva7 wrote: post #84
chrisweekly wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your linked post about test harnesses is outstanding; thanks for sharing!

I've skimmed the article and still have no clue what you guys are talking about. Is test harness another word for end to end testing?

Well, I thought I explained it well. Frankly, I'm shocked that folks don't know what test harnesses are. They are one of the oldest constructs in Software Engineering. In the days of old, we often called them "Unit Tests."

If you want some concrete examples, here you go:

Here's my "Spinner" widget:

https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Spinner

This is the four test harness apps:

https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Spinner/tree/main/...

This is my checkbox widget:

https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox

Here's the test harness app:

https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_Checkbox/tree/main...

There's more, but these should be enough to illustrate the point.

Re: Developer's block

#94

Post by esperent »

username135 wrote: post #89
mikepurvis wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha, well ya can’t win em all I guess :)

edibles

If I go near weed in any form, indica or sativa, I won't sleep for the entire night, guaranteed. It's not an enjoyable experience for me at all, by far my least favorite drug that I've tried.

Re: Developer's block

#96

Post by shakna »

arcanemachiner wrote: post #80
oldmandev wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that sleep and exercise are key. Some have pain and/or insomnia waking them up at night with the inability to get back to sleep quickly or at all, and some have pain/injuries that make exercise less fun. Telling us to sleep and exercise is like telling homeless and starving people to get off the streets, find a job, eat a good dinner, and buy a house. It sounds nice, and we’ll do our best, but the world you l…

When people are giving generic advice, they're obviously not talking about corner cases. Don't be such a victim. Not everyone is going to think of your exact situation in every sentence they write.

I'm gonna call you out on this one, sorry.

Telling someone who is victim not to be such a victim is... Nothing but being a dick. They're hurting. There's better ways to talk to people. That people don't think of them, is kinda how they end up being a victim in the first place. They fall through the cracks, and that makes them more vulnerable.

Was this the time and place? Probably not.

Are you helping? Fuck no.

Re: Developer's block

#97

Post by arcanemachiner »

shakna wrote: post #96
arcanemachiner wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When people are giving generic advice, they're obviously not talking about corner cases. Don't be such a victim. Not everyone is going to think of your exact situation in every sentence they write.

I'm gonna call you out on this one, sorry. Telling someone who is victim not to be such a victim is... Nothing but being a dick. They're hurting. There's better ways to talk to people. That people don't think of them, is kinda how they end up being a victim in the first place. They fall through the cracks, and that makes them more vulnerable. Was this the time and place? Probably not. Are you helping? Fuck no.

Your sentence did not address every possible marginalized group, and is therefore willfully disregarding their situation.

Your swearing is offensive to someone reading your post. Your misuse of grammer as well. What about the people who can't read your post because they are blind, have dyslexia, don't have access to the Internet, etc.? How dare you!

Did you consider the viewpoint of every possible person who could have read your post before you submitted it? Of course not, because that's impossible, and would be an insane request to make.

Re: Developer's block

#98

Post by shakna »

arcanemachiner wrote: post #97
shakna wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm gonna call you out on this one, sorry. Telling someone who is victim not to be such a victim is... Nothing but being a dick. They're hurting. There's better ways to talk to people. That people don't think of them, is kinda how they end up being a victim in the first place. They fall through the cracks, and that makes them more vulnerable. Was this the time and place? Probably not. Are you helping? Fuck no.

Your sentence did not address every possible marginalized group, and is therefore willfully disregarding their situation. Your swearing is offensive to someone reading your post. Your misuse of grammer as well. What about the people who can't read your post because they are blind, have dyslexia, don't have access to the Internet, etc.? How dare you! Did you consider the viewpoint of every possible person who could ha…

You made a personal attack. There were better ways of speaking.

You've now tried again, to make a personal attack. (I'm so sorry my grammar isn't American. I'm not.)

How about, if you really want the conversation, you post more than flamebait?

Re: Developer's block

#99

Post by jnxx »

libraryofbabel wrote: post #64
binaryturtle wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just take a hot bath… best ideas happen in the bathtub for me.

Mathematician JE Littlewood was a big proponent of walking and shaving for ideas: > “Illumination, which can happen in a fraction of a second, is the emergence of the creative idea into the conscious. This almost always occurs when the mind is in a state of relaxation, and engaged lightly with ordinary matters. Helmholtz's ideas usually came to him when he was walking in hilly country. There is a lot to be said for w…

The foundation of quantum physics being developed with plenty of hikes and walks outside is almost a science meme. These researchers took a lot of very productive breaks.

Re: Developer's block

#100

Post by ksflrn »

lilerjee wrote: post #79

Good article, thank you! I like extreme cycling, and it helped me solved many problems about development. When I'm riding my bike and listening to music, especially when freely imagining and designing my product in my mind, I am very relax. Many aspects of my products were designed while I was riding. Cycling is a great form of exercise. It not only helps you strengthen your body, enjoy the scenery, relax your mind,…

How can one enjoy the scenery and design stuff in the brain all at once? Seems contradictory to me
Post reply on HN