I haven't done any pair programming nor really watched people code. I was wondering how fast most programmers code. I know there's huge differences in terms of language expressiveness (I've programmed in Lisp), but thought I could still infer something if there are enough replies. Even for supposedly simple problems (meaning I pretty mu...
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...
This is a question about your preferred environment for software development. We recently moved into new offices, and before they were planned, we had a little poll among all the developers what their preferred office size was (this is Europe, so no cubicles, we are used to separate offices ;-) ). The result was that, before we moved, m...
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? ...
Currently we've got Good IDEs, with code completion, compilers, plug-ins, embedded servers... "The Works" Good build tools Nice unit testing frameworks Pretty decent application servers Lots of books about Design Patterns and XP (if only we had time to read them) Fast CPUs and virtually unlimited storage (looking at YouTube ;-) Decent ...
How long can a compile time get before it starts becoming a distraction to you? For me: <1 sec, I don't notice >1 min, I'm going for coffee >10 min, S.O. here I come (any other programming task that involves letting the computer do it's thing also apropos) ...
I have diagnosed ADD. Mild but enough to affect my work: Easily distracted Can't concentrate on one project at a time Addicted to the web Procrastination etc. What strategies do you use to compensate? One clarification I have real ADD. I was diagnosed with it when I was a child and have wrestled with it all my life. I am not ...
Coding is a very attention consuming exercise, how do you prepare yourself to begin a good coding session? I use to be more calm and ready to think in a useful way after reading some insightful new posts from my rss reader. ...
What is the minimum development system you would (depending on who you are): expect your employer to provide you with provide your employees buy for your self I'm not talking dream systems. Just what is needed to stay off TDWTF? (p.s. what type of dev would your systems be used for?) ...
I miss it so much (used it a lot in C#). can you do it in C++? ...
I have a reasonably modern developer desktop (E6600, ASUS PN5-E, 2GB RAM, 350GB SATA2, Vista Ultimate x32), but I'd like to squeeze some more out of it. I am wondering what the best bang-for-bucks hardware upgrade would be. If I limit my budget to £150GBP (~$300USD), what would people say would give me the best performance increase w...
I've heard a lot of good things about using Mylyn in eclipse. How could I set it up to give me a taste of how I could use it? Thanks ...
I'm going to be using basecamp for the first time on new project. Does anyone have any good tips / pitfalls for using basecamp. For example, can you end up spending more time playing with the to-do lists than actually getting on with the project? ...
Is it possible to reset the alternate buffer in a vim session to what it was previously? By alternate buffer, I mean the one that is referred to by #, i.e. the one that is displayed when you enter cntl-^. Say I've got two files open main.c and other.c and :ls gives me: 1 %a "main.c" lines 27 2 # "other.c" ...
I am often involved in multiple programming projects at the same time. I sometimes find it hard to time-share between those projects efficiently. For example: Some projects get too little attention, either because they are less fun or because I forget about them. Sometimes it feels like the context-switching between projects takes ...
If anyone has had more than a couple of Microsoft tools or products installed (or a local install of the MSDN library) side by side, you might have noticed that opening help (hitting F1) or opening, say, SQL Server Books Online causes the help indexes to be re-indexed - this is usually after installing a new product or tool. This can be...
I have recently been working with Python using Komodo Edit and other simpler editors but now I am doing a project which is to be done in C# using VS 08. I would appreciate any hints on how to get productive on that platform as quickly as possible. ...
I had about 7 employes until today and everyone had another kind of timesheet/timereporting. How do you track your time at your current workplace, or if your a freelancer, how do you keep track of your time? ...
Vi and Vim allow for really awesome customization, typically stored inside a .vimrc file. Typical features for a programmer would be syntax highlighting, smart indenting and so on. What other tricks for productive programming have you got, hidden in your .vimrc? I am mostly interested in refactorings, auto classes and similar productiv...
I frequently have to remote into my work desktop using rdp. One pain point has always been that I have a dual screen setup at home, but am unable to take advantage of it because the rdp session only uses 1 screen. My workaround up to this point has been to open a 2nd session to s different box on the secondary monitor and work that way. ...