Actually typing code doesn't take much time. Understanding the problem is the difficult bit. If these developers are already familar with an area (perhaps even

Actually typing code doesn't take much time. Understanding the problem is the difficult bit. If these developers are already familar with an area (perhaps even implemented it once or twice before), they can do it very quickly. Or have an office/community of people who have, or seen other solutions, or are good at researching/asking online (eg Larry Page asking for help with his java spider; you now). Consider: how long would it take you to add cut-and-paste to your next app? Race conditions are a nightmare for just about everyone. Change your architecture to minimize cross-thread communication, and use queues when you can't avoid it. APIs also can be a nightmare, difficult to understand, don't do what you need, under-documented and of course have their own bugs and required workarounds. Finally, if you're still spending too much time debugging, you might need to change your approach in other ways. e.g. code only a bit at a time, testing it immediately, so you know what has introduced the bug; write modules that you understand, so once they are debugged, you don't have to worry about them; unit tests can help but aren't essential. It can be helpful to trace through their source code, so you know what's happening. If you understand what you're doing, bugs are usually easy to diagnose and fix. It's gaining the understanding that takes the time - and, I would claim, is programming. Maybe there are programmers who, due to prior experience, concentration powers, talent, memory or raw intelligence, are ten times faster than you (or more!). That shouldn't discourage you from creating something worthwhile. Time spent doesn't alter its worth. Provided it doesn't take too long to complete, does this pride in competitive efficiency really matter? BTW: Worth, popularity and usefulness are functions of the problem solved - not of the solution. A polished solution to a problem no one cares about has doesn't help anyone nor get much attention. Whereas an ugly solution to a huge problem will change the world. Even mathematicians and theoretical physicists sometimes start with inelegant solutions, though they get polished over time.