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Habits of Expert Software Designers (thereader.mitpress.mit.edu)

711 points by headalgorithm · 2565 days ago · 143 comments on HN

Article summary

The article discusses the habits of expert software designers, but its content is not available. The discussion reveals that the article may be more of a marketing piece for a book, lacking actionable content and useful advice. The comments suggest that the article's title is misleading and the content is too vague to be helpful. The article's use of illustrations and stock photos is also questioned.

Main themes

  • software design expertise
  • abstraction and complexity
  • learning from mistakes
  • Java and programming languages
  • marketing and clickbait

What commenters say

  • The article is essentially a marketing piece for a book, lacking substantial content and useful advice.
  • Expert software designers use abstraction to achieve separation of concerns, but this concept is often misunderstood by juniors.
  • Making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process, but having guidance from experts can speed up progress and reduce wasted time.
  • Java is a poor vehicle for implementing flexible and generic code due to its lack of functions and type aliases.
  • Adding abstraction can sometimes make code shorter and more efficient, but it can also lead to over-engineering and unnecessary complexity.
  • The article's vagueness and lack of concrete examples make it unhelpful for junior software designers who need practical advice.
  • The importance of learning from mistakes and experiencing failure is debated, with some arguing that it is essential for growth and others suggesting that guidance and critique can be more effective.
  • The use of illustrations and stock photos in the article is seen as either fine and relevant or unnecessary and clickbait-y, depending on the commenter's perspective.