2 ms·

I've never used MongoDB and hopefully never will, but I have to defend that phrase in the larger context. A great number of programming problems I've seen have

I've never used MongoDB and hopefully never will, but I have to defend that phrase in the larger context. A great number of programming problems I've seen have been to do with people not knowing what they're doing with complex tools, it really is that simple. Actual example: a long time ago someone in my company introduced a race condition into their product because they didn't know about transaction isolation levels (or the locking facilities exposed by MSSQL). I can give many more, as I'm sure anybody here can. All complex tools need large investment in time to understand. I suspect MongoDB's team are using that as an excuse but in general you must jnow what you're doing with any tool.

HelloNurse 6y ago
Let's make an analogy. To drive a car one needs to "know what they are doing" to the point that driving licenses are mandatory. Let's consider a common accident type: a collision because you turn but your directional lights remain off. If it happens because the driver just forgot to signal, it's a mistake and it's hard to blame the car. It's like knowing what transaction isolation levels can be used, but asking for the wrong one or trusting a random default. On the other hand, if the directional lights remain off despite pulling the lever because the car is in a probably illegal power-saving mode, activated by turning the headlights off, and the driver should have reactivated directional lights with an ambiguously named item in the depths of some options menu, blaming the accident on user error would be very partisan: it's the car that doesn't know what it's doing. It's like figuring out the correct transaction isolation level according to DBMS documentation, asking for it, and expecting it is actually used.