How often do you "Google" while programming?

#1

Post by zengr » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 7:07 AM UTC

Let's face it. We all google/search a lot while programming. I am a new programmer (from the last 2yrs) and I hate it, but when ever I am stuck, I search for quick solutions online.

What about you guys? How can this "problem" be solved? or...its ok?

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#2

Post by spooneybarger » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 7:10 AM UTC

It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#3

Post by zengr » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 7:12 AM UTC

spooneybarger wrote: post #2

It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

But, the old way of referencing is using an index, so I think I should go to javadocs and look for the method and not search for "how to do xyz+java"

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#4

Post by rndmcnlly0 » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 7:21 AM UTC

More than 10 years in (implies mastery, right?) I still search all the time. However, I'm not looking for solutions per se. Instead, I'm just looking to refresh myself on the available building blocks (whether it be the API or whatever syntactic sugar the particular language at hand provides). In exchange for this constant dependence on external technical reference, you can gain fluency in a large number of languages libraries and tools.

Learn the big, important concepts in a variety of domains, and don't ever worry about memorizing the finicky details (which might very well change in the next release anyway).

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#5

Post by jbr » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 7:38 AM UTC

I've been programming since middle school and I'm now almost 30 and I google all the time. There's too much to remember, and I wouldn't want to burden my memory with too many specifics. I try to focus on remembering generic patterns, since those are far harder to search for.

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#6

Post by spooneybarger » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 8:00 AM UTC

zengr wrote: post #3

spooneybarger wrote: post #2

It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

But, the old way of referencing is using an index, so I think I should go to javadocs and look for the method and not search for "how to do xyz+java"

That is a mighty limited concept of 'reference' you have. Reference books are books you refer to when you want to know how to do something. Build a deck, grow orchids, how to do xyz in java.

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#7

Post by brisance » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 8:05 AM UTC

It depends a lot on the experience/background of the person, as well as the problem at hand. Most programming "problems", like any other engineering field, have already been solved, so there's no shame in turning to a search engine or even better, StackExchange, for solutions. The best coders are the ones that are learning all the time.

On the other hand, there is usually an impedance mismatch between the description of the problem and the actual solution. Take a look at the horror stories on The Daily WTF. http://thedailywtf.com/

Anyway, try to read as much code as possible, both good and bad, find a mentor(s), be able to take constructive criticism, and just persevere, and you should be fine.

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#8

Post by rcfox » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 8:16 AM UTC

zengr wrote: post #3

spooneybarger wrote: post #2

It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

But, the old way of referencing is using an index, so I think I should go to javadocs and look for the method and not search for "how to do xyz+java"

Why on Earth would you limit yourself to the old way of doing things? You're not recreating a war; you're trying to get stuff done.

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#9

Post by Kliment » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 8:19 AM UTC

I find searching is the fastest way to find documentation for library functionality as well as example code for when the documentation didn't cut it. I don't see why you should hate it. I did a fair bit of Win32 stuff a while back, and still poke around the occasional bit of Windows driver code when trying to make weird/outdated stuff work. The documentation on those is terrible. Searching is the only way. I mostly write Python now, but I still find I rather search modulename+functionname than use help().

Re: How often do you "Google" while programming?

#10

Post by gojomo » Tue, Aug 31, 2010, 8:48 AM UTC

zengr wrote: post #3

spooneybarger wrote: post #2

It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

But, the old way of referencing is using an index, so I think I should go to javadocs and look for the method and not search for "how to do xyz+java"

But don't you jump to the right class javadocs via a well-tuned Google search?

(I've probably queried some variant of [java Pattern 5] hundreds of times to look up Java regex syntax. It's odd to see that the Sun Javadocs have now dropped from the rankings for this query with the Oracle re-domaining, and now some Columbian University mirror is the top hit.)