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I wrote eight books, sold about 35 000 copies (fairly huge number for Czechia with its not-quite-11 million people), and I am also a programmer. The similariti
by inglor_cz 4y ago
I wrote eight books, sold about 35 000 copies (fairly huge number for Czechia with its not-quite-11 million people), and I am also a programmer.
The similarities are pretty strong. In both cases, you need to express yourself so that the receiving party may understand you.
That said, human readers are a lot more welcoming and friendly consumers of your written work than computers. Positive feedback from computers is basically nonexistent.
- Hendrikto 4y ago> Positive feedback from computers is basically nonexistent. 412 tests passed, 0 warnings, 0 errors.
- inglor_cz 4y agoI know, I know. That said, receiving an e-mail like "I spent a week reading all your books, PLEASE WRITE SOME MORE" is much more satisfying.
- bstpierre 4y agoI suspect this is tongue in cheek, but passing tests aren’t really the computer’s feedback. They’re feedback from Past You, who wrote the tests. The computer is just performing the tests. The tests might be incomplete or even wrong. The code might be horrendous. The computer doesn’t care. Human feedback on the code, design, usability, appearance, documentation, etc. is all very different from passing tests.
- barnacled 4y agoIncredible work! I'm writing my own book (obligatory mailing list link [0] and description [1]) and I wondered how you tackled the mental side? It is a bit of a rollercoaster I am finding. That constant fear gnawing in the back of your head 'is this really any good at all?' :) I suppose it is the price of caring. [0]:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSen0gefOrPWi6ZtEQ25YEKAN2TTeVq1vom6IrIUq4Va67_l2w/viewform?usp=pp_url https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSen0gefOrPWi6ZtEQ25... [1]:https://ljs.io/book.html https://ljs.io/book.html
- inglor_cz 4y agoPrior to writing my first book, I already published quite a lot of articles, so I knew that there was some non-empty audience set out there :) I started a crowdfunding project for the first book too, so that the printing and typesetting costs get covered. They were covered fully, so I knew that I won't dip into red numbers as a consequence. (This was a major worry of mine.) I was still pretty nervous about acceptance, but it turned out OK. Whew.
- antirez 4y agoDon't you want to hug your monitor when it compiles? :D