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A computer program is a theory of how to solve a problem, written by humans, in a format readable by machine. Most of the time, it will be humans doing the read
by mikewarot 3y ago
A computer program is a theory of how to solve a problem, written by humans, in a format readable by machine. Most of the time, it will be humans doing the reading, the compiler only sees it sporadically. The run-time executable is a crystallization of the source code, freezing its structure for all time. (In the ideal case)
Since the audience is mostly human, write for them. Future you, who has forgotten the context, will likely be the largest fraction of that audience, be kind to them.
- Cerium 3y agoYep, past self was an asshole. Working on the same code base for an extended time is great since there are plenty of humbling instances where you go "wtf" and git blame only to find your own name.
- hnfong 3y agoYeah, this is not precisely a "CS fact", but "you will git-blame a piece of shitty code and find a N-year old commit with your own name on it" is probably an unintuitive fact of programming that you only get to experience when you have a couple solid years under your belt.