6 ms·
I'm reminded of folks who use IDEs that "help" them remember APIs via autocomplete dropdowns. It speeds them up initially but eventually leaves them completely
by chriseppstein 17y ago
I'm reminded of folks who use IDEs that "help" them remember APIs via autocomplete dropdowns. It speeds them up initially but eventually leaves them completely dependent on their tool and incapable of writing code on their own. External knowledge is good, but internalizing that knowledge that you use regularly is even more important and will make you a better person.
- thrdOriginal 17y agoBetter person??? Basic and constantly used knowledge will become internalized: despite using an IDE I don't need Intellisense to navigate all of the most commonly used APIs. I think what will be important is knowing how to find and apply the correct information rather than just rote memorization of information.
- seldo 17y agoIt is an intellectual trap to believe that just because a skill you worked hard to achieve is no longer necessary, you are a "better person" than those who no longer need that skill. Can you use a slide rule? I bet you can't. But when pocket calculators were invented engineers were scornful of a new generation who could only punch in numbers. Can you write in assembly? Probably not, but when higher-level languages first turned up you weren't considered a "real" programmer unless you could hack assembly -- and then again when Java overtook C, and then again when interpreted languages like PHP overtook Java. Why does having memorized an API make you better than somebody who uses a tool that makes memorizing the API unnecessary? Unless you can show that one makes you demonstrably more efficient, it's immaterial.