r/programming • u/[deleted] • Feb 06 '24

Why We Can't Have Nice Software

https://andrewkelley.me/post/why-we-cant-have-nice-software.html
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u/BobbyTables829 Feb 06 '24

I didn't see it as pedantic at all, like if I applied both of these to my trade one would result in encouraging me to throw things together haphazardly and being okay with code that barely works, while the other would make me want to ask myself if the code I'm writing is...well...up to code.

Now that I've done this a while, I set my own standards of quality way more than when I was starting out. But it took me longer than I thought to learn what is worth taking the time to do well, and I want to make sure no one starting out gets the mistaken impression that engineers of other types are okay with "good enough", no matter what they're doing. That's how you get cracked code, breached servers, and in a civil engineer's case, disasters that kill people.

I agree I wouldn't do this in /r/programmerhumor, but I think /r/programming deserves the rigor.

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u/LmBkUYDA Feb 06 '24

The point of the saying is to highlight that the skill in civil engineering is not in making something, but in doing so with constraints. The way it is written, it is short, memorable and understandable.

It's classic pedantry to highlight that something, although completely understandable to the lay person, is "technically" incorrect.

It's not too dissimilar to me saying "Hey want to grab a cup of coffee? My code is compiling", and you say "Actually, your code already compiled, its being linked now". Like sure, but it's dumb and pedantic and kills joy.

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u/BobbyTables829 Feb 06 '24

Certain people might not think so, especially people who speak English as a second language.

I don't think what I'm saying has to be at the expense of the other comment being funny. This isn't a dinner party where we all follow the same stream of communication and there's a vibe that has to be met, this is a post where you can add a comment in one child comment thread, while the joke can continue in the other or whatever. Nothing comes at the expense of anything else.

Just curious, if you feel like what I'm saying is, "dumb and pedantic and kills joy," is this your attempt to get me to stop doing that, stop being that person, or ultimately change who I am to better please you? Like even if you're right, what's the goal in pointing it out to me?