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Ask HN: Programming on paper (any benefits?)

1 points by kamuffel 8y ago

For the programming exams we have at our university we have to write code on paper (like full code, not pseudo). I feel that writing code on paper really limits my ability to express my programming knowledge, in comparison to writing code on the computer. However, I cannot think of a real benefit of doing so. I mean most programmers (if I may generalize) have bad handwriting. Which is a loss-loss situation for both the examinees and professors (who have to read the exams). Are there any benefits for writing code on paper?

FroshKiller 8y ago
Writing code without an IDE forces you to question your assumptions and acknowledge your ignorance of the language, operating system, runtime, and application themselves. If I'm creating a new data structure and find myself unsure whether the type for one of its members is initialized to a certain value implicitly, that's an opportunity for me to learn something when I transcribe the code later. Handwriting in particular is useful to me professionally because it forces me to slow down and consider each line. I find that I wind up with better implementations when I write an initial version in longhand, if only because I frequently circle blocks and ask clarifying questions about my own work. I doubt this approach is generally useful to every programmer. I hesitate to recommend it. But yes, there are benefits to me at least.
LandR 8y ago
>> I feel that writing code on paper really limits my ability to express my programming knowledge, in comparison to writing code on the computer. If I gave you something like an emacs settup with no intellisense or autocomplete for the language you use, would you struggle? Or is just the writing it on paper that's the issue?
- kamuffel 8y ago
  It is writing it on paper which is the issue. I would struggle a lot less when writing it on the computer (without autocomplete or anything related). How do I know? because when I make my practical (school) assignments (which I do in Sublime Text without autocomplete) I complete the assignments within no-time. This is, somehow, not the case when doing it on paper.

1 points by kamuffel 8y ago

FroshKiller 8y ago

Writing code without an IDE forces you to question your assumptions and acknowledge your ignorance of the language, operating system, runtime, and application themselves. If I'm creating a new data structure and find myself unsure whether the type for one of its members is initialized to a certain value implicitly, that's an opportunity for me to learn something when I transcribe the code later. Handwriting in particular is useful to me professionally because it forces me to slow down and consider each line. I find that I wind up with better implementations when I write an initial version in longhand, if only because I frequently circle blocks and ask clarifying questions about my own work. I doubt this approach is generally useful to every programmer. I hesitate to recommend it. But yes, there are benefits to me at least.

LandR 8y ago

>> I feel that writing code on paper really limits my ability to express my programming knowledge, in comparison to writing code on the computer. If I gave you something like an emacs settup with no intellisense or autocomplete for the language you use, would you struggle? Or is just the writing it on paper that's the issue?

kamuffel 8y ago
It is writing it on paper which is the issue. I would struggle a lot less when writing it on the computer (without autocomplete or anything related). How do I know? because when I make my practical (school) assignments (which I do in Sublime Text without autocomplete) I complete the assignments within no-time. This is, somehow, not the case when doing it on paper.