3 ms·
I feel this, but I think it's just a thing that programmers do. It was 10 years ago when I realized that all programming methods are about dealing with (concept
by catapart 4y ago
I feel this, but I think it's just a thing that programmers do. It was 10 years ago when I realized that all programming methods are about dealing with (conceptualizing/architecting) state. It made a lot of stuff "simple" to me that had previously been "complex" and I got a lot of value out of that change in paradigm. Not so much that I didn't assume all my peers didn't already know it (I find I'm usually "behind the curve" when it comes to piecing obvious things together), so didn't evangelize it to anyone, but I definitely understand why someone would.
It feels secret, because no one really talks directly about how all programming paradigms are about state. But once you realize it, you can start to see how a lot of high-level programmers reference it when they talk, all the time. Just something that "everybody knows", once you spend enough time working in code.
Personally, it wasn't the realization that it's all about state that was particularly exciting. It was using that new interpretation to understand how I could mix and match different types within a single project, to make each separable/modular piece of it, rather than dogmatically sticking to a single paradigm throughout. I think there's a definite mental breakthrough when a programmer can confidently use multiple different state paradigms to handle what would otherwise be a clunky or unwieldy implementation in a single paradigm.