Comment by doug_durham

2 months ago

Crafting code can be self-indulgent since most common patterns have been implemented multiple times in multiple languages. A lot of time the craft oriented developer will reject an existing implementation because it doesn't match their sensibilities. There is absolutely a role for craft, however the amount of craft truly needed in modern development is not as large as people would like. There are lots of well crafted libraries and frameworks that can be adopted if you are willing to accommodate their world view.

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doug_durham

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breuleux  2 months ago

As someone who does that a lot... I agree. Self-indulgent is the word. It just feels great when the implementation is a perfect fit for your brain, but sometimes that's just not a good use of your time.

Sometimes, you strike gold, so there's that.

  • sfn42  2 months ago

    I kind of struggle with this. I basically hate everyone elses code, and by that I mean I hate most people's code. A lot of people write awesome code but most people write what I'd call trash code.

    And I do think there's more to it than preference. Like there's actual bugs in the code, it's confusing and because it's confusing there's more bugs. It's solving a simple problem but doing so in an unnecessarily convoluted way. I can solve the same problem in a much simpler way. But because everything is like this I can't just fix it, there's layers and layers of this convolution that can't just be fixed and of course there's no proper decoupling etc so a refactor is kind of all or nothing. If you start it's like pulling on a thread and everything just unravels.

    This is going to sound pompous and terrible but honestly some times I feel like I'm too much better than other developers. I have a hard time collaborating because the only thing I really want to do with other people's code is delete it and rewrite it. I can't fix it because it isn't fixable, it's just trash. I wish they would have talked to me before writing it, I could have helped then.

    Obviously in order to function in a professional environment i have to suppress this stuff and just let the code be ass but it really irks me. Especially if I need to build on something someone else made - itsalmost always ass, I don't want to build on a crooked foundation. I want to fix the foundation so the rest of the building can be good too. But there's no time and it's exhausting fixing everyone else's messes all the time.

    • gmueckl  2 months ago

      I can guarantee you that if you were to write a completely new program and continued to work on it for more than 5 years, you'd feel the same things about your own code eventually. It's just unavoidable at some point. The only thing left then is degrees badness. And nothing is more humbling than realizing that the only person that got you there is yourself.

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    • pdntspa  2 months ago

      I feel this too. And it seems like the very worst code always seems to come from the people that seem the smartest, otherwise. I've worked for a couple of people that are either ACM alum and/or have their own wikipedia page, multiple patents to their name and leaders in business, and beyond anyone else that I have ever worked with, their code has been the worst.

      Which is part of what I find so motivating with AI. It is much better at making sense of that muck, and with some guidance it can churn out code very quickly with a high degree of readability.

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    • 93n  2 months ago

      Yeah, I know this feeling very well.

      I usually attribute it to people being lazy, not caring, or not using their brain.

      It's quite frustrating when something is *so obviously* wrong, to the point that anyone with a modicum of experience should be able to realize that what was implemented is totally whack. Please, spend at least a few minutes reviewing your work so that I don't have to waste my time on nonsense.