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I don't think programming ability is measured by the number of APIs/libraries one has committed to memory.
by allthenews 9y ago
I don't think programming ability is measured by the number of APIs/libraries one has committed to memory.
- kazinator 9y agoHaving an accurate and large knowledge of relevant API's will help you program faster and more accurately, and make better design decisions earlier. (You avoid the "if I had known about these API's, I'd have done it differently" situation.) It's hard not to conclude that this is one axis in the multi-dimensional "ability" space.
- geezerjay 9y agoKnowing APIs cuts down the time you take to implement something, and also helps you understand what and how you can achieve a goal. Between a guy who needs to spend 5minutes googling for a class/module/function and someone who prompltly writes it down, there is no question who is a more capable programmer.
- allthenews 9y agoWhile I do not deny that memorization of APIs makes for more efficient programming, I would argue that, long term, readability, maintainability, and extensibility are far more useful time savers overall. Architecting a codebase which meets standards like these requires a different set of experience that comes with time and can't be trivially looked up online. If I were to measure a programmer's ability, I.e., what makes a "good programmer", perhaps in the context of am interview, I would therefore not test rote knowledge.
- bsamuels 9y agoif you have to spend 15-20 minutes pulling out books and looking up commands/registers every hour, you lose a lot of productivity. that was the reality of programming before the internet