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There are only two hard problems in computer science: naming things, cache invalidation, and off by one errors.
by cwbrandsma 3y ago
There are only two hard problems in computer science: naming things, cache invalidation, and off by one errors.
- ozim 3y agoI think one problem with first problem is that names are not going to live forever just as the code. Lots of times code will be scrapped, a lot of times code will just run and no one will ever mind changing it. So I’d say amount of time invested in naming won’t payback.
- erik_seaberg 3y agoIt’s very hard to change stuff that has grown beyond your control. Local variable names? Sure. API names? That’s a major version break. Correcting the “Referer” header? Unthinkable for 27 years and counting.
- hinkley 3y agoAfter you fix a few cache invalidation bugs, you realize those problems are mostly about identity, and identity is just another form of naming things.
- proto_lambda 3y agoThere are only two problems in computer science: we only have one joke, and it's gotten old.
- bcrosby95 3y agoThere are 10 problems in computer science: we only have two jokes, and one of them is bad.
- zhte415 3y agoWhat about the other 14?
- rufus_foreman 3y agoI don't like computer science jokes. Not one bit.
- DonHopkins 3y agoOh no, you're off by one again! There's an even older one: Q: Why can't programmers tell Christmas for Halloween? A: Because OCT 31 = DEC 25.