4 ms·

I think even admittedly premature improvements of scalability are seldom a waste of time. People saying so are at least making premature generalizations. Bomba

I think even admittedly premature improvements of scalability are seldom a waste of time. People saying so are at least making premature generalizations. Bombarding your app with of millions of simulated users and tweaking it to handle it well can be loads of fun. It might even provide the inspiration needed to finish the app in the first place. Great graphic designers are at times known to indulge in pointless experiments in typography or color. Why can't great hackers indulge in pointless experiments in scalability without suffering the ridicule of their peers? Developers acting on their own accord must be allowed to be inspired by their hopes and dreams and not always take the straightest path to the goal. If time should always be spent in the wisest manner without indulging in your own fancy, developers should also stop write complaining blog posts about other peoples code and instead improve their own apps.

jnovek 16y ago
"Why can't great hackers indulge in pointless experiments in scalability without suffering the ridicule of their peers?" There's nothing wrong with that, but you shouldn't do it with your startup. Optimization is inherently limiting -- your product will probably be completely different in three months, and you will most likely find yourself having to reverse or work-around unnecessary decisions that you made early on. I know we did, and now our engineers probably curse my name for it. It has probably cost us dozens of hours (and thousands of dollars). "Developers acting on their own accord must be allowed to be inspired by their hopes and dreams and not always take the straightest path to the goal." If your goal is to make awesomely scalable software and learn a lot, then, yeah. If your goal is to build a company, however, you should shed every non-essential and worry about potential problems when they're real problems.
- martinkallstrom 16y ago
  Upvoted because I agree with the sentiments expressed within, but I think balance is called for. An early-stage startup can still be a learning experience.

jnovek 16y ago

"Why can't great hackers indulge in pointless experiments in scalability without suffering the ridicule of their peers?" There's nothing wrong with that, but you shouldn't do it with your startup. Optimization is inherently limiting -- your product will probably be completely different in three months, and you will most likely find yourself having to reverse or work-around unnecessary decisions that you made early on. I know we did, and now our engineers probably curse my name for it. It has probably cost us dozens of hours (and thousands of dollars). "Developers acting on their own accord must be allowed to be inspired by their hopes and dreams and not always take the straightest path to the goal." If your goal is to make awesomely scalable software and learn a lot, then, yeah. If your goal is to build a company, however, you should shed every non-essential and worry about potential problems when they're real problems.

martinkallstrom 16y ago
Upvoted because I agree with the sentiments expressed within, but I think balance is called for. An early-stage startup can still be a learning experience.