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GeekNights 080303 - What is Programming?
Tonight on GeekNights, we begin a new, ongoing series (which is explained in the show) dealing with the deeper details of Computer Science and Information Technology. Thus, we ask (and answer): what is programming? In the news, planes could be boarded faster, and small computers exist.
Scott's Thing - Project Darkstar
Rym's Thing - The Booze Quiz
Scott's Thing - Project Darkstar
Rym's Thing - The Booze Quiz
Comments
Nothing to see here, move along ^_^
95%ALCOHOLIC
I'm not even a drinker. at all
94%DRUNKARD
Damn, I'm the weakest.
I'm weaker.
The irony.
Hmm. The tequila question threw me off and I had to ask for hints on a couple others, but most of them I knew right off. Either I'm a serious booze-hound or I should've been a bartender.
I clicked on one wrong.
Woman
I drink perhaps a 6 pack a year...
85%DRUNKARD
Scott, You may have said this in another post, or group of posts...
What language do you use most often? What language do you enjoy the most? Do you use an IDE? What IDE do you use? Do you use a "framework" when building an application, or standardized work flow? CVS, SVN, or Other?
As of late I am doing most work in PHP, only because that is what most of the applications at my job are built with.
I don't really enjoy any language the most, but there are some languages I absolutely do not like, such as Perl. The level of programming enjoyment usually depends on the project and the problems being solved, not the language being used.
For the vast majority of work, I do not use an IDE. I use vim, and I use command line tools. However, for certain projects, using an IDE is warranted. For example, when I was playing around with the Google Android SDK, I used Eclipse because there was a handy plugin.
I use a framework to build an application when a framework is warranted. For example, I am currently in the planning stages of making a game built on the GameGardens framework.
I don't have any strictly defined work flow. I just work generally according to the standard software development life cycle. The specifics of what order I do things, and how I do things, are determined by necessity and whimsy.
I used to not care which version control software I used. I would use CVS if other people were using CVS. I would use SVN if other people were using SVN. I would use RCS if I was working alone, because it is easier. However, now that I have discovered Git, all those other version control systems can suck the dog dick of Anubis. We're switching to it at work, and I'm using it for all my projects at home. It is superior to every other version control system I have ever used in every conceivable fashion.
As an aspiring scifi (amongst other topics) author, I often run up against the struggle of taking some technical concept and stating it in some way that is both accessible to the uninitiated, as well as accurate enough to give one a working knowledge of what the implied rules are. You're "notes on the sidewalk" comparison was stellar!
On the flip side, I am only (barely) a hobby level interest when it comes to programing. I used to play around in ApplesoftBasic back on my old Apple IIGS, but it's been years since I actually studied anything beyond a few unix/linux command line tools. Currently I'm trying to teach myself C, so I'm really looking forward to the next few shows!
Ok, rambled enough. Thanks!
I have a co-worker that's been programming for years and he swears by Emacs. I just can't get into it, the learning curve is like a vertical wall, a 50 foot vertical wall with spikes. The only drawback I have with Eclipse is I can't just ssh into a server and fire it up like Vi or Emacs.
He uses CVS for version control, I've been looking at SVN, I just set up an SVN server in my office. The company standard is SVN, but you have to put in a request to use the corporate SVN system and they "charge" our group for the space on their server. I want to learn SVN though because it's the company standard.
You might want to consider Git anyway. One of the greatest features of Git is that it can talk to CVS or SVN servers. This way even if you work with people who insist on CVS or SVN, you can still use Git on your own. Another advantage is that if you setup a Git repository, CVS can still talk to it. So if someone on the team insists on using CVS when everyone else is using Git, it can still work out.
51%LIGHTWEIGHT