3 ms·
As someone in computational physics, let me assure you it's the same there. The one thing is doing math right and having the correct idea about coordinates. The
by ktpsns 6y ago
As someone in computational physics, let me assure you it's the same there. The one thing is doing math right and having the correct idea about coordinates. The other is being able to tell the computer about these ideas! Many people cannot code, so are not aware of array or vector facilities of their programming language/ecosystem they use (or rather have to use, because it's always have been like that).
This Phd comic is pretty acurate about the situation: http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1689 http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1689
Now imagine being a newcomer with neither programming experience nor domain specific knowledge and asked to add some feature to such a legacy codebase. This is the standard case in science.
- C1sc0cat 6y agoI feel seen :-) In my first job I updated someones (doing a PHD in fluid mixing) Fortran code. The original software to run an experimental rig just put up a ? prompt and you typed numbers in to drive the experiment. You had to memorise which number was used for what and at which point you had reached. I updated it to prompt the user and at every step display what options where available and also allowed you to go back a step. I even went as far as to use Mixed Case Hollerith segments!
- dbetteridge 6y agoMy thesis supervisor was surprised when I handed over my code in git repo, CDROM and USB drive. Apparently they're used to just receiving print-outs shudders