Coding Style
Posted in Computer Science on August 28th, 2009I’ve been extremely busy in classes right now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to update as much as I did over the summer. I’d much rather be here than working on homework though! But I will still be updating regularly! 
And unfortunately I don’t have time for a big, drawn out post right now either, since I have a lab to get done. 
But I do have a question for you…
So, in CS yesterday, the professor showed us an example of a C program that generated an html table with input and output files. It was kinda cool, and I guess I see how html can tie in with CS now, although I still hate my major!! One kid made fun of the professor, though, because he claimed nobody hard codes html anymore, they all use software that does it for them. I have been working with html since middle school, and I’ve always hard coded my pages. I’ve tied to use an editor in the past, but just didn’t like it! I feel like using an editor is cheating, because you don’t even have to know how the code works to create something. For some people, yes it’s useful, but if I want to claim to be a master, I feel like I need to do it myself. And I know other people who have never used an editor before either. Just wondering, for all you people out there who code, do you guys use an editor? Am I a lone wolf when it comes to coding by hand? I didn’t realize it was an annoyance to write it out, I thought it was fun!
August 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I guess I’ll have to ask you for help in my first programming class when I start school in a few weeks :P
And I’ve always hard coded because I don’t know how to use editing programs!
August 28th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
i hard code mine, but i run it through editing software just to make sure i didn’t forget anything important — like a closing tag or something of that nature and then i still run it through the validator online.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I too major in computer science. Currently I only have experience in some html, css, xml and java. In a few weeks I’m going to a C class. I sometimes code with an editor and sometimes by hand.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Well, as an amateur speaking, I’ve always coded by hand. I don’t know anything about xml, java or all that important stuff.
HTML and CSS (familiar with) is more like a hobby to me.
I find it much, much harder to use an editor. You spend time on learning how to use it, while you could’ve spent that time learning how to code by hand.. :P
As you said, it might feel like cheating to use a program that generates codes for you.
I feel like I have more control when I do it by hand. Editors feel so foreign to me.
August 31st, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Editors assist but they don’t do your work for you. Code completion inserts some of the necessary syntax but couldn’t possibly guess what you’re trying to do. If you define three integer variables, for example, code completion can hint at one of the values when you’re writing a mathematical expression, but you must decide what that expression is and what variable to use. In other words, the software can make suggestions or point out that you’re missing a closing bracket, but it simply can’t write your code for you. Otherwise we’d have AI, and we’d have much bigger worries on our hands
So, unless you’re prepared to memorize the entire C reference manual (or whatever language you end up working in), code completion is a *must*. And besides that, when you’re working on projects with millions and millions of lines of code, any automated help you can get is appreciated.
Now that I’ve said that, I’d recommend coding from scratch when you’re learning. It’s the best (maybe even the only) way of really getting to know how the language works. But once you’re comfortable with it, writing from scratch will be a terrible waste of time and won’t offer any benefits.