3 ms·

The sad truth is that the majority of people would prefer the "verbose" version, no matter how genius is your cut-down version. Same in software engineering: no

by mojuba 18y ago

The sad truth is that the majority of people would prefer the "verbose" version, no matter how genius is your cut-down version. Same in software engineering: nobody cares how beautiful and concise your code is, you are paid only for the results.

olavk 18y ago
You should probably not draw the analogy to software too far. Clearly users appreciate (and are willing to pay for) beauty and simplicity in user interface. Look at the iPod. But of course customers don't care if your code is minimal or a convoluted mess, as long as the app works. 20th century art is a little different because the process is part of the exposed product - the art piece here is not the last plate (which would be a bit boring on its own), but the whole sequence.
- mojuba 18y ago
  Unfortunately bloatware sells well, too - take Microsoft or Adobe. Why this analogy: succinctness and beauty is not appreciated in our industry, whereas it should have been a standard, like in mathematics or physics, where it is appreciated and "standardized" so to say. In math and physics you have to express youself in the most concise way. And I have never seen beauty and succinctness of the code being a requirement as a part of making software, unfortunately. Edit: "bloatware" pertains to both the code and the interface.
- maxwell 18y ago
  I'm no mechanical engineer, but when I pop the hood of my car, I'd rather see something minimal than a "convoluted mess." Likewise, I'd think a user would -- in theory -- like to be able to view source and see clean intelligent-looking code. Today most people seem to know/care more about cars than web sites and it's easier to tell high quality auto parts from high quality code. I suspect that will change in the future though.
sofal 18y ago
Many developers prefer verbosity because they are unwilling to learn anything more complex than simple conditionals and loop structures. This is what happens when you turn software development into software engineering.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]

by mojuba 18y ago

olavk 18y ago

You should probably not draw the analogy to software too far. Clearly users appreciate (and are willing to pay for) beauty and simplicity in user interface. Look at the iPod. But of course customers don't care if your code is minimal or a convoluted mess, as long as the app works. 20th century art is a little different because the process is part of the exposed product - the art piece here is not the last plate (which would be a bit boring on its own), but the whole sequence.

mojuba 18y ago
Unfortunately bloatware sells well, too - take Microsoft or Adobe. Why this analogy: succinctness and beauty is not appreciated in our industry, whereas it should have been a standard, like in mathematics or physics, where it is appreciated and "standardized" so to say. In math and physics you have to express youself in the most concise way. And I have never seen beauty and succinctness of the code being a requirement as a part of making software, unfortunately. Edit: "bloatware" pertains to both the code and the interface.
maxwell 18y ago
I'm no mechanical engineer, but when I pop the hood of my car, I'd rather see something minimal than a "convoluted mess." Likewise, I'd think a user would -- in theory -- like to be able to view source and see clean intelligent-looking code. Today most people seem to know/care more about cars than web sites and it's easier to tell high quality auto parts from high quality code. I suspect that will change in the future though.

sofal 18y ago

Many developers prefer verbosity because they are unwilling to learn anything more complex than simple conditionals and loop structures. This is what happens when you turn software development into software engineering.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]