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Well, I would be slightly worried if a carpenter forgot how many centimeters go into a meter. (Or how many feet go into a yard?). "Sure", you say, "but they do

Well, I would be slightly worried if a carpenter forgot how many centimeters go into a meter. (Or how many feet go into a yard?). "Sure", you say, "but they don't need to know it by heart. The carpenter can always look that up if they really need it." This is true. You are 100% correct. But think of this: Said conversion is pretty common in Carpentry, so each time our Carpenter forgets, they're going to end up looking it up again really quickly. You would think that after having looked it up umpteen times, the Carpenter would effectively end up memorizing the conversion by accident. Right? So while I suppose it's not strictly necessary, it would definitely be a bit funny to encounter a Professional Carpenter who doesn't have centimeters<->meters memorized.

Ralfp 4y ago
This analogy assumes that JS/Python devs work with byte-level measurements all the time like how carpenters work with measurements centimeter-level measurements, which is very debatable.
- Kim_Bruning 4y ago
  Two things: As the saying goes: if all you have is a hammer, every problem resembles a nail. You can validly say "I've never actually needed a screwdriver", even if the screwdriver might have been more useful for the job at hand. It also depends on what domain you're working in. I just happen to have been working on a Python/JS GUI to operate a Robot this past month. Interfacing with the Robot did require use of bits and bytes. Fortunately both Python and Javascript do support those operations for just those kinds of situations. So while I do agree that some jobs can be done in javascript and python where you can avoid needing bits and bytes, that's my two answers: 1) Bits and bytes sure can come in handy at times. They might be the best tool for some jobs. and 2) For some jobs you really do need to manipulate bits and bytes. You can't avoid them forever. So if you like writing a lot of different kinds of programs for a lot of different kinds of things, you're almost certain to end up using bits and bytes sooner or later. Do that often enough and it does tend to stick. That includes Python and Javascript.
  - woojoo666 4y ago
    I could say the same about CSS though. Eventually, many developers end up working with CSS some way or another. But I still wouldn't consider flexbox a CS fundamental
- Volundr 4y ago
  JavaScript and Python need to calculate filesysizes, measure network bandwidth and track memory usage just like every one else. There's also of course bit shift operations and byte arrays. Heck byte size is relevant to floating point even.

Ralfp 4y ago

This analogy assumes that JS/Python devs work with byte-level measurements all the time like how carpenters work with measurements centimeter-level measurements, which is very debatable.

Kim_Bruning 4y ago
Two things: As the saying goes: if all you have is a hammer, every problem resembles a nail. You can validly say "I've never actually needed a screwdriver", even if the screwdriver might have been more useful for the job at hand. It also depends on what domain you're working in. I just happen to have been working on a Python/JS GUI to operate a Robot this past month. Interfacing with the Robot did require use of bits and bytes. Fortunately both Python and Javascript do support those operations for just those kinds of situations. So while I do agree that some jobs can be done in javascript and python where you can avoid needing bits and bytes, that's my two answers: 1) Bits and bytes sure can come in handy at times. They might be the best tool for some jobs. and 2) For some jobs you really do need to manipulate bits and bytes. You can't avoid them forever. So if you like writing a lot of different kinds of programs for a lot of different kinds of things, you're almost certain to end up using bits and bytes sooner or later. Do that often enough and it does tend to stick. That includes Python and Javascript.
- woojoo666 4y ago
  I could say the same about CSS though. Eventually, many developers end up working with CSS some way or another. But I still wouldn't consider flexbox a CS fundamental
Volundr 4y ago
JavaScript and Python need to calculate filesysizes, measure network bandwidth and track memory usage just like every one else. There's also of course bit shift operations and byte arrays. Heck byte size is relevant to floating point even.