(This is a snapshot of my old weblog. New posts and selected republished essays can be found at raganwald.com.)
Monday, October 30, 2006
A Ruby, Io, and Ocaml Programming Pattern
Every 5 minutes you spend writing code in a new language is more useful than 5 hours reading blog posts about how great the language is.
Programming Theorems
Seriously.
If I hand you a plastic disc, are we going to spend all day debating whether Ultimate is more fun than Soccer? Do you want to investigate the physics of rotating aerofoils and how gyroscopic precession affects the flight path when the disc is released from your hand at 190 degrees?
Or should we just go out and throw the Hammer already?
Reading is important. But reading (and blogging!) is no substitute for doing. And on that note, I shall return to writing unit tests...
If I hand you a plastic disc, are we going to spend all day debating whether Ultimate is more fun than Soccer? Do you want to investigate the physics of rotating aerofoils and how gyroscopic precession affects the flight path when the disc is released from your hand at 190 degrees?
Or should we just go out and throw the Hammer already?
Reading is important. But reading (and blogging!) is no substitute for doing. And on that note, I shall return to writing unit tests...
Comments on “A Ruby, Io, and Ocaml Programming Pattern”:
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That has been my problem. I do a lot of reading ... a really scary amount of reading, now that I think on it more. Especially compared to the amount of programming I do.
I think for a while I am going to restrict myself to need-driven research. Until my time spent coding roughly equals with my time spent reading I don't think I can learn much more from anything but my own mistakes.
I think for a while I am going to restrict myself to need-driven research. Until my time spent coding roughly equals with my time spent reading I don't think I can learn much more from anything but my own mistakes.
I empathize, I really do! Reading and research are very effective ways of deferring that moment when the rubber hits the road and we sit down to actually write code.
For me, this is related to the Turing Tar Pit problem and the Frameworkitis problem. It's all a manifestation of the fear that it just won't work.
Of course, once I get going I invariably make it work. But I still have to fight that fear and get cracking.
Speaking of which... thanks for the comment but I must not avoid writing unit tests today...
For me, this is related to the Turing Tar Pit problem and the Frameworkitis problem. It's all a manifestation of the fear that it just won't work.
Of course, once I get going I invariably make it work. But I still have to fight that fear and get cracking.
Speaking of which... thanks for the comment but I must not avoid writing unit tests today...
"Speaking of which... thanks for the comment but I must not avoid writing unit tests today..."
Yeah, I found about as much irony when I thought about checking back to see if anyone else had replied.
If you are reading this, you aren't working. Fix that.
Yeah, I found about as much irony when I thought about checking back to see if anyone else had replied.
If you are reading this, you aren't working. Fix that.
Well now there's a great idea for an early New Year's resolution. It's one of those things I suppose everyone deep down knows, but it's ever so hard to get down to business, especially with so many great blogs luring me back in time and again.
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