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"Do you agree there's a spectrum here (with stuff like Brainfuck being on one end)?" I'm in complete agreement with you. My contention is that a person who wor

by bpyne 7y ago

"Do you agree there's a spectrum here (with stuff like Brainfuck being on one end)?" I'm in complete agreement with you. My contention is that a person who works with a certain language, even Brainfuck, all day every day is going to be able to read it as easily as a person who works in a more "popular" language like Java: even if it's at 4am. Anyone who doesn't work in the language shouldn't be reading it with the goal of implementing a critical fix at 4am. That person should contact a team member who does work in the language. I'm contending that the 4am scenario, as posed by the parent commenter, is a process issue not a language issue. If a manager requires that whoever answers the phone at 4am fixes the problem, even if the person has no knowledge of the language or requirements of the module, then his/her employees should be running to another job because that manager is bad for your health and livelihood.

magicalhippo 7y ago
Well yeah reading Brainfuck is rather easy after all, it's just a few symbols. Understanding what the code does and what it's trying to do is something else, and there I think language matters a whole lot. For example, const helps me a lot when trying to understand C++ code. If I see a const reference, I know this bit of code I have in front of me can't modify whatever it is referencing. My language at work doesn't have const references, so I'm never quite sure if a call does modification as a side effect or not. This is the kind of stuff that I think can matter when trying to fix something at 4am. Now, Haskell as I understand it is rather pure, so side effects like that are not a big issue. But on the other hand it allows for embedded DSL's from what I understand, which perhaps could be an issue if my coworker were to get creative. Though as I said I have no background to judge Haskell on this, I just thought it was a valid thing to be concerned about.

by bpyne 7y ago

magicalhippo 7y ago

Well yeah reading Brainfuck is rather easy after all, it's just a few symbols. Understanding what the code does and what it's trying to do is something else, and there I think language matters a whole lot. For example, const helps me a lot when trying to understand C++ code. If I see a const reference, I know this bit of code I have in front of me can't modify whatever it is referencing. My language at work doesn't have const references, so I'm never quite sure if a call does modification as a side effect or not. This is the kind of stuff that I think can matter when trying to fix something at 4am. Now, Haskell as I understand it is rather pure, so side effects like that are not a big issue. But on the other hand it allows for embedded DSL's from what I understand, which perhaps could be an issue if my coworker were to get creative. Though as I said I have no background to judge Haskell on this, I just thought it was a valid thing to be concerned about.