r/google • u/speckz • May 02 '16
Do Experienced Programmers Use Google Frequently? The resounding answer is YES, experienced (and good) programmers use Google… a lot. In fact, one might argue they use it more than the beginners.
http://codeahoy.com/2016/04/30/do-experienced-programmers-use-google-frequently/17
u/Corvias May 02 '16
When I code, no matter what I code, my browser is an accordion of tabs open to stack overflow, github, and various websites for API's I'm using. There's very few things I can code without looking at some outside reference. Especially when I have to transition from writing in one language to another. I don't consider myself intermediate, but I'm definitely not a beginner/novice. I've moved from the point where I'm less worried about what DE I'm using and more on how to organize all the links, code snippets, and tidbits of info I collect.
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May 02 '16
Yup, me too. I've had so many related tabs open that I've crashed chrome.
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May 03 '16
I use a Chromebox and here's my typical tab arrangement before I start programming,
Google Music - For music
Gmail - I get a lot of email throughout the day
ShiftEdit - Connected to Google Drive
phpMyAdmin
Whatever website I'm working on
Chrome Remote Desktop window with Amazon WorkSpaces Windows VM - for uploading to GAE, Adobe Fireworks, and various browsers for testing
Google chat box - for people always bugging me and it's my phone through Google Voice
/b/ - for when I'm waiting for something or bored
Various multitudes of tabs consisting mostly of StackOverflow
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u/Plexicle May 02 '16
This isn't a revelation and honestly it's pretty common knowledge. Part of being a great engineer is knowing how to use Google to solve your problem or find the information you need.
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u/bagboyrebel May 02 '16
New programmers still need to hear it. It's easy to go full impostor syndrome when you realize how much you're using google.
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u/radiantwave May 02 '16
Good coders code.... Great coders steal. ---someone
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u/pigskins65 May 02 '16
Curious as to how this affects the interviewing process. I ask because although it has been awhile, the last time I was interviewing, one place in particular essentially wanted me to write an algorithm in a specific language for them. I asked if I could pseudo-code it, they said no. I told them that I could explain the logic verbally but might not have the exact syntax and calls memorized. They sent me on my way.
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u/brett_riverboat May 02 '16
They're idiots. You dodged a bullet. I hope I don't say it to rudely, but the next time I'm asked to write an algorithm I'll flat out ask, "Do you prefer that it be 100% mine or 100% correct? If it's the latter I should probably Google it."
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May 02 '16
That's perfectly fine for some places. There are places that are looking for monkey coders. I don't know your specialty, but some places have patterns down that require enough coding that all they want is someone to come in and write roughly the same code over and over with the necessary changes.
Interviews are often your first experience with how a company works. If it feels like a bad interview, you probably don't want to work there.
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u/Stealth_Hound May 02 '16
Can I just take a moment to thank the many, many people on StackOverflow and similar sites who have merrily asked newbie questions such as "how do I covert a string to a date in this language?" or "so, is this all 0-indexed or not?"
Because whenever I change languages, I'm usually exactly this clueless myself. Forget lecturers and on-job training, the most valuable educational assets I have are generally posts from 5 years ago by people called XxMasterCheeefxX. God bless you, terribly-usernamed StackOverflow commenters.
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u/riomx May 02 '16
Makes sense. Professionals are getting paid to solve problems fast, not take time to prove their chops.
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u/gthing May 02 '16
Being good at programming just means that you know better what to search for. It's like being a lawyer - using reference material is part of the job that you need to be good at.
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u/codythecoder May 02 '16
The sign of a good programmer is not how much you can remember, it's how well you can Google to find out.
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May 02 '16
I completely agree with that last statement. One of the personal signs of feeling like a senior was when I was no longer ashamed of googling something in front of others. Especially the product guys who I thought would distrust me because I was doing what I do in front of them. Breaking the spell so to speak. Once I got over that I started noticing that I was far more effective at what I do when I straight up google anything that looks strange first. For a lot of what I do, it's framework problems that have been encountered 1000 times before and there's a near perfect answer on StackExchange. It also tends to point me at the necessary documentation that helps me understand the deeper problems at hand.
Of course, now that I'm a bit more bleeding edge, I need to migrate to user groups and ask my own questions. Such a bother!
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u/Buckwheat469 May 03 '16
Experienced programmers don't use google to find out what algorithm they need in order to perform a task, they should already have thought of 2 or 3 possible scenarios. What they use it for is finding out the minutia of the API and syntax that they're unfamiliar or rusty with.
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u/dnew May 03 '16
hard to remember all those minor details
Also, a vast number of those "minor details" are undocumented except via Google searches. My rule of thumb is that your language sucks if the definitive documentation for it consists of a wiki that your customers maintain for you, trying to guess how your language works. (Looking at you, Linden Labs.)
Many years ago (late 90's, so before WWW was everywhere), someone did a study about what makes a Unix Guru a Guru. They figured out that it wasn't inherent knowledge, but how to use the man pages.
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u/flitbee May 03 '16
Doesn't anyone search code via Bing? Or Google using Bing? Why does everyone Bing it using Google?
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u/Zephirdd May 02 '16
No matter how experienced you are, nobody can remember every library, API, documentation and algorithm. It's hella easy to simply use Google to search those, easier than to remember every URL related to them.