For a while now i have been working in a Japanese software development company and one of the things that was really mind-blowing was the difference in the work culture here and in companies in north America. Even though all tools and development is the same, it is the attitude to work, dedication and sheer unity with which people work i...
Working in an environment with both development and support aspects, sometimes it can be very difficult to switch back and forth between tasks - usually on totally different systems. I personally make notes as I'm working on stuff in the mind-mapping tool, Freemind. I find this does minimise the effects of context-switching - I can quit...
I currently use a combination of Vim + the vimoutliner plugin to keep notes. To the vimmers out there, what tips, tricks, habits, tools, etc do you use to keep your collection of valuable nuggets of info organized? ...
I've been programming for about 5 years now and I have just started my first professional development job. One thing I have noticed since I started is that programming can be very uncomfortable, especially for tall people like myself. As I have started to do more and more programming I have started to get a sore back, a painful shoulder...
Brain games? A special diet? Exercise? Staying drug free? Sex? Abstinence? What's your secret? ...
Meaning only the time when your fingers are actually pushing keys to write code. ...
Sometimes coding issues come up and you really need to think about something different in order to refocus. How do you forget about a current coding problem? ...
I usually take hours to get into the zone. But I kept getting knocked out of the zone (usually by coworkers asking for help) and switching between programming tasks is tiring. How do you get back into the zone after losing it? ...
What you do before starting to code/program everyday? Play a flash game? Surfing? ...
How do you keep yourself stress free while spending hours and hours on a project ? What do you do to reduce chances of catching back pain/shoulder pain or eye irritations? What sort of measures do you take to keep rsi away ? Is it the design of your chair, is it a sweet music in background, is it a great mouse & keyboard combo, is it go...
I've read somewhere that ergonomic problems accounts for 70% of injury... And i don't want to be one of those guys who think, ahh it's just a slight sore, and go on and discover that i have CTS and have to operate on my hands!!! So are the any good ergo habits that you follow religiously each day? Or some cool tools that would send any ...
I was wondering. When I started to program a few years ago, it was easier to get the documentation on the harddrive and browse it from there, than go online to get some help. With the years the internet speed has reach most of us, and now it is easier to get a reference directly in internet. As a matter of fact I would find rather ...
Closed as an exact duplicate of this question. When I write C++ code I compile frequently so that I can see that I'm not making a mistake or what errors to fix next. However, that practice is unfortunately highly inefficient, especially with bigger projects that take a long time to compile. Even if compilation takes only 30 seconds or...
When you code, do you write a few lines at a time, compile and run, write a little more, compile and run etc.? Or do you usually write large chunks at once without compiling? Has this work style changed over time for you? ...
I've recently become active on SO, mainly because it's a lot more inspiring than the deadline for the big wodge of documentation that no one's ever going to read that is looming ever larger in my headlights. I'm wondering why I'm risking discipline/unemployment more as each hour slips by, especially when the Global Financial Crisis is s...
I'm a new programmer in college and was wondering if there are any bad habits to watch out for early on. Anything that you wish you knew to avoid when starting. Thanks. ...
I noticed it's more and more frequent for me. 5 minutes is probably the longest i can go without checking facebook, or this site, or youtube, etc. What do you do to keep your attention focused on the task, and how long does it last? ...
As a student, my available time slots for programming range from all night sessions to all weekend events for personal projects, homework, etc. Generally for my coding session to be successful, I'll need at least a block of a few hours. I've found that programming for extended sessions lasting longer than 8 hours can be fairly draining....
I write code primarily for personal use, but I'm considering releasing an application (scientific simulation/visualization) that I originally developed for personal use. One of my habits is to use a main method in classes for testing the operation of the class in isolation. I figure that's probably bad in someway (as are no doubt vario...
I find it very hard to answer question like : "why did you implemented it this way?" or "what's the reason of using that instead of that?" usually because the implementation is the result of a long thought process and trials and errors. By the time i'm finished i can't recall every specific details. I wanted to know if you have some ti...