2 ms·

Why good developers should use bad computers

24 points by Rinzler89 2y ago

Rinzler89 2y ago
"I don't see what the issue is, it works just fine on my M3 Max with 64GB RAM.".
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
robaxisal 2y ago
It's a sensible point. but could have been explained in 15 secs.
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
datavirtue 2y ago
Why good developers should profile their apps.
lasereyes136 2y ago
Makes sense for desktop software, less so for webapps and web services. I agree with the point that developers should profile their apps and for some apps having a bad computer is an implicit way of doing that. It doesn't mean it is a good strategy for everyone.
- ChocolateGod 2y ago
  > Makes sense for desktop software, less so for webapps and web services Isn't the latter what a large chunk of desktop software is these days?
  - bigfatkitten 2y ago
    It's also the slowest and most bloated desktop software.
- zepolen 2y ago
  It makes even more sense for webapps, with the bloated frameworks, non native performance single threaded performance, network access overhead and bloated json parsing everywhere. Force that dev to try out his app with cpu and network throttling to simulate a normal mobile phone user on a shitty mobile network and he'll soon reconsider fetching 10mb of javascript bundles and rerendering the entire page every time the mouse moves.
  - troyvit 2y ago
    This, plus the best machines tend to come with high quality monitors, and testing your web apps a using lower resolution can expose all kinds of UI and accessibility gotchas.
dangus 2y ago
Then again, if you’re developing something like a AAA video game, it’s going to be in a 5 year development cycle. So early in early development, you’re going to need a more advanced system to match what the mid-range system will look like in 5 years. Plus, a lot of optimization happens closer to release in the game industry. There’s no sense optimizing code that may be removed or changed, you need something that’s closer to the final product.
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago
One can always set their processors to lower frequency temporarily.
DerekL 2y ago
This is entirely wrong. Instead, you should do routine performance testing on low-end machines, and do your work on reasonably high-end machines.

24 points by Rinzler89 2y ago

Rinzler89 2y ago

"I don't see what the issue is, it works just fine on my M3 Max with 64GB RAM.".

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

robaxisal 2y ago

It's a sensible point. but could have been explained in 15 secs.

aaron695 2y ago

[dead]

datavirtue 2y ago

Why good developers should profile their apps.

lasereyes136 2y ago

Makes sense for desktop software, less so for webapps and web services. I agree with the point that developers should profile their apps and for some apps having a bad computer is an implicit way of doing that. It doesn't mean it is a good strategy for everyone.

ChocolateGod 2y ago
> Makes sense for desktop software, less so for webapps and web services Isn't the latter what a large chunk of desktop software is these days?
- bigfatkitten 2y ago
  It's also the slowest and most bloated desktop software.
zepolen 2y ago
It makes even more sense for webapps, with the bloated frameworks, non native performance single threaded performance, network access overhead and bloated json parsing everywhere. Force that dev to try out his app with cpu and network throttling to simulate a normal mobile phone user on a shitty mobile network and he'll soon reconsider fetching 10mb of javascript bundles and rerendering the entire page every time the mouse moves.
- troyvit 2y ago
  This, plus the best machines tend to come with high quality monitors, and testing your web apps a using lower resolution can expose all kinds of UI and accessibility gotchas.

dangus 2y ago

Then again, if you’re developing something like a AAA video game, it’s going to be in a 5 year development cycle. So early in early development, you’re going to need a more advanced system to match what the mid-range system will look like in 5 years. Plus, a lot of optimization happens closer to release in the game industry. There’s no sense optimizing code that may be removed or changed, you need something that’s closer to the final product.

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago

One can always set their processors to lower frequency temporarily.

DerekL 2y ago

This is entirely wrong. Instead, you should do routine performance testing on low-end machines, and do your work on reasonably high-end machines.