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There is a similar dilema in the creative writing field: "I don't know the right way to say this idea" or "I have writer's block." The general advice from the
by yajoe 14y ago
There is a similar dilema in the creative writing field: "I don't know the right way to say this idea" or "I have writer's block." The general advice from the workshops and masters is to write something, even if you know it's terrible, so you have a place to start and revise (what we would call refactoring). The theory is that revising words is much easier and can be helped along by someone else moreso than a blank page.
However, I've only seen it work in practice when you do go back and refactor. Too often the smelly code gets left behind, and that is why I usually ask others to think through code before writing.
- stcredzero 14y ago> The theory is that revising words is much easier and can be helped along by someone else moreso than a blank page. Amen. Nothing beats the instructive facility of running code and a usable UI. > However, I've only seen it work in practice when you do go back and refactor. Too often the smelly code gets left behind, and that is why I usually ask others to think through code before writing. Well, of course it won't work if you don't refactor. You get results analogous to writing with no revision. There's also the trick of knowing when you've revised enough -- amateurs stop before the pros.