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Whiteboards are okay for ad-hoc lists and diagrams, but they are a poor medium for coding. Some of the biggest productivity gains I've had over the years were
by romaniv 8y ago
Whiteboards are okay for ad-hoc lists and diagrams, but they are a poor medium for coding.
Some of the biggest productivity gains I've had over the years were related switching from "writing code down" to "thinking in code" mentality and abandoning linear, paper-like ways of thinking, which hindered me when I was in college.
For anyone who believes that paper and whiteboards are "good enough" for coding, I highly recommend watching some of Victor Bret's or Alan Kay's talks. Pretty much any of them. They consistently touch on the subject of dynamic media as a way to empower people to... well, think better for the lack of better terms.
- tlarkworthy 8y agoI think you have got the wrong lesson off those guys. They are about engaging the spatio-visual systems. The whiteboard is the first step away from text towards that. Obviously they want to go a lot further than a whiteboard, but the fact that you can draw things, circle things, wipe things off makes a whiteboard a much more dynamic media than an ASCII interface. I think you would find them pro-whiteboard for thinking design.
- romaniv 8y ago>I think you have got the wrong lesson off those guys. They are about engaging the spatio-visual systems. The whiteboard is the first step away from text towards that. Not when you are literally writing code on it.
- rando444 8y agoI guess I'll just point out the distinction.. there's an obvious gap between writing code and writing pseduo code / logic structures. And there's nothing wrong with whiteboarding pseudo-code.
- curuinor 8y agobret's apparatus in dynamicland is literal pieces of paper embodying code, which, quote, "also are fully functional pieces of paper".