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The word “just” is superfluous in the sentence, and to the author’s point can easily imply more simplicity in use, concepts, etc. than is warranted. Software d
by sidlls 5y ago
The word “just” is superfluous in the sentence, and to the author’s point can easily imply more simplicity in use, concepts, etc. than is warranted.
Software documentation should be more like scientific article writing: passive, and having few or no modifiers like “trivial” or “just” or the like.
- mtippett 5y agoI actually see just as in a lot of cases as being as a painful indication of a gross trivialization of something. I regularly call out engineers when they say "just", in a lot of cases when I say - can you explain "just" they go and pull out their collection of familiarity and understanding. To which I usually ask - "How much of your understanding will the reader have?". When I ask them to remove the just, suddenly a single word becomes a couple of sentences that expand the "just". Magically something trivialized becomes described.
- yoz-y 5y agoEncountering a “just” triggers my fight or flight response. I often interpret is as something that author has done so many times they have internalised it, regardless of the complexity of the task. It also probably isn’t documented with something more than a deprecated code snippet.