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Re: I can't get no...

by sauoq (Abbot)
on Sep 17, 2002 at 02:16 UTC ( [id://198415]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to I can't get no...

From the CB after theorbtwo brought up the contrast between I can't get no... and Passion for Perl:

<tye> easy satisfaction is not as satisfying

I think that hit the nail on the head. The more difficult a task is, the more satisfaction you get out of completing it. Perl, however, makes most tasks relatively easy. It's not hard to write in one day the Perl equivalent to what might take a C programmer a week. The end result is that sometimes it seems too easy, particularly if you have a lot of experience in a language like C.

At some point you just have to accept your solution no matter how little effort it took. If it passes your test cases and runs within an acceptable amount of time, you can probably let it stand. One idea would be to focus that leftover energy on, for example, writing better documentation or improving your installation package.

You might still be able to get that feeling of satisfaction from completing the project instead of just the program.

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";

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Re: Re: I can't get no...
by jepri (Parson) on Sep 17, 2002 at 05:26 UTC
    Trouble is, my projects are never completed. There's always one more thing to do...

    Your point about documentation and packaging is good though. I am getting into doing good doco for my proggies, and it does feel good to sit back and look at a good page of documentation. Still, I have to write code to document, and then I'm back to the same old situation. Not that I'm going to stop or anything :)

    ____________________
    Jeremy
    I didn't believe in evil until I dated it.

        Still, I have to write code to document, and then I'm back to the same old situation.

      Try writing the documentation first, then the code. Now, you're allowed to go back and change the documentation if you discover a better way of doing it while coding, but go change the doc as these cases are being discovered.

      Then, you won't have the documentation hanging over you at the "end" of a project.

      Better yet, stop thinking about projects having an "end". Most programs are changed over time. There are just relatively active periods of development followed by relatively inactive periods of development.

      Note that the above is all speculative on my part as I, myself, usually put off documentation until after I'm "done" with coding. This is all just do what I say, not as I do... Better to be a hypocrite who proclaims the truth rather than a silent person who has nothing good to say, I guess. Maybe someday, I'll actually catch myself following my own good advice. :-)

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