3 ms·

> searching for it isn't that much of a bottleneck When I left IDEs for a terminal-based dev setup (Vim + CLI), this was what I thought. I rapidly discovered h

> searching for it isn't that much of a bottleneck When I left IDEs for a terminal-based dev setup (Vim + CLI), this was what I thought. I rapidly discovered how incredibly wrong that was. A big factor, for me, was that autocomplete kept me from making typos. Even with a rapid feedback loop, those typos build up. Plus, the reduced cognitive overhead that comes from being able to bang out code faster also lets me stay much more focused. Intelligent autocompletion is a nice-to-have that I don't think I really miss, but straight-up dumb autocompletion has been a huge boon for my productivity.

lomereiter 10y ago
On the other hand, autocomplete leads to typos in the middle of a variable name being repeated again and again. Plus, practice of typo-free editing is beneficial also outside IDE, i.e. for chats/emails/commenting on HN.
- ssijak 10y ago
  For that I have Grammarly plugin
- klibertp 10y ago
  > On the other hand, autocomplete leads to typos in the middle of a variable name being repeated again and again. No. It's programmers' dyslexia which leads to typos being repeated again and again. The problem is that many programmers don't read their own code, and even if they do they don't know how to read it critically/carefully. It's incredibly frustrating. There are a lot of similarities between writing code and writing prose. Many programmers are unaware of this. Even today, many programmers write code for machines to execute, not for other people to read. I feel that it's deeply wrong approach and that "creative writing" course (or something equivalent) should be mandatory for programmers. I think we need a large shift in how introducing spelling and grammar errors into the code is seen. Namely, it should be viewed exactly the same as introducing bugs - it's that damaging in the long run. Please don't do this. Please use spell checkers and please learn your orthography.

lomereiter 10y ago

On the other hand, autocomplete leads to typos in the middle of a variable name being repeated again and again. Plus, practice of typo-free editing is beneficial also outside IDE, i.e. for chats/emails/commenting on HN.

ssijak 10y ago
For that I have Grammarly plugin
klibertp 10y ago
> On the other hand, autocomplete leads to typos in the middle of a variable name being repeated again and again. No. It's programmers' dyslexia which leads to typos being repeated again and again. The problem is that many programmers don't read their own code, and even if they do they don't know how to read it critically/carefully. It's incredibly frustrating. There are a lot of similarities between writing code and writing prose. Many programmers are unaware of this. Even today, many programmers write code for machines to execute, not for other people to read. I feel that it's deeply wrong approach and that "creative writing" course (or something equivalent) should be mandatory for programmers. I think we need a large shift in how introducing spelling and grammar errors into the code is seen. Namely, it should be viewed exactly the same as introducing bugs - it's that damaging in the long run. Please don't do this. Please use spell checkers and please learn your orthography.