5 ms·

Isn't this akin to saying I don't like wearing seatbelts because it makes me more complacent in my driving?

cryptica 7y ago
It could actually be the case that seat-belts make drivers more complacent but the key difference in the case of coding is that you won't die if you make a typo in your code. If designed correctly, your tests will catch it anyway.
- Verdex 7y ago
  Therac-25 [1] disagrees with your statement. Although to be fair, the programmer didn't die. The patients did. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
- cjfd 7y ago
  Your tests? You should despise tests if you want to be consistent with the attitude described in your first post. In the mean time I will just keep using my strongly typed language and, of course, also automated tests. Thank you very much.
- eru 7y ago
  The selling point of types (and type inference) is that they save you from having to write half your tests. And of course, lines of code that you didn't have to write are less likely to have bugs in them.
hinkley 7y ago
Someone once describing the forces acting on a race car pointed out that the horizontal forced in a curve were high enough to throw you from the car if not for the five point harness (F1 probably doesn’t have this behavior due to the cockpit design). Sometimes safety equipment lets you go faster.
- eru 7y ago
  > Sometimes safety equipment lets you go faster. Even simpler: brakes let you go faster. When I was cycling a while ago, my brakes broke in the middle of a cross-country ride. I didn't want to push the bike back all the way, but you can bet your hat that I rode extremely slowly and cautious.
  - hinkley 7y ago
    Both brakes broke, or the front brake did? You can get by with just the front brake. Question is if you had enough tools to do that surgery. Would depend on the brakes. I don't think anybody remembers how shit bike brakes were before dual pivot came along. God bless Shimano and keep it forever. When I got my first set, I started emergency-braking with 2 fingers because I was worried I'd pole vault myself if I actually squeezed like I meant it. (I have high grip strength).
    - eru 7y ago
      Was a 'flevo racer' recumbent bike that I was still repairing, and had only one brake (front) at the time. I was only a few kilometres from home.

It could actually be the case that seat-belts make drivers more complacent but the key difference in the case of coding is that you won't die if you make a typo in your code. If designed correctly, your tests will catch it anyway.

Verdex 7y ago
Therac-25 [1] disagrees with your statement. Although to be fair, the programmer didn't die. The patients did. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
cjfd 7y ago
Your tests? You should despise tests if you want to be consistent with the attitude described in your first post. In the mean time I will just keep using my strongly typed language and, of course, also automated tests. Thank you very much.
eru 7y ago
The selling point of types (and type inference) is that they save you from having to write half your tests. And of course, lines of code that you didn't have to write are less likely to have bugs in them.

hinkley 7y ago

Someone once describing the forces acting on a race car pointed out that the horizontal forced in a curve were high enough to throw you from the car if not for the five point harness (F1 probably doesn’t have this behavior due to the cockpit design). Sometimes safety equipment lets you go faster.

eru 7y ago
> Sometimes safety equipment lets you go faster. Even simpler: brakes let you go faster. When I was cycling a while ago, my brakes broke in the middle of a cross-country ride. I didn't want to push the bike back all the way, but you can bet your hat that I rode extremely slowly and cautious.
- hinkley 7y ago
  Both brakes broke, or the front brake did? You can get by with just the front brake. Question is if you had enough tools to do that surgery. Would depend on the brakes. I don't think anybody remembers how shit bike brakes were before dual pivot came along. God bless Shimano and keep it forever. When I got my first set, I started emergency-braking with 2 fingers because I was worried I'd pole vault myself if I actually squeezed like I meant it. (I have high grip strength).
  - eru 7y ago
    Was a 'flevo racer' recumbent bike that I was still repairing, and had only one brake (front) at the time. I was only a few kilometres from home.