Programming Is Mostly Thinking (2014) (agileotter.blogspot.com)

Article summary

The article discusses how programming is mostly about thinking and problem-solving, rather than just writing code. It highlights that a significant amount of time is spent understanding the code, deciding how to make changes, and communicating with others. The author argues that the actual coding process is a small part of the overall development time. The article also touches on the idea that programmers work in a social context and that their results are integrated into a shared code base.

Main themes

• Programming as thinking
• Problem-solving
• Code quality
• Software development process
• Collaboration
• Algorithmic thinking

What commenters say

• Developers should learn to think algorithmically and use data structures and algorithms to solve problems efficiently.
• Large Language Models (LLMs) can generate code, but it is unclear whether they truly think algorithmically or just use probability and randomness.
• Simple and durable code is often preferable to complex and clever code, as it is easier to maintain and understand.
• The Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle is often misunderstood, and abstraction should be used to encapsulate behaviors that need to be synchronized, not just to avoid repeated code.
• Starting to write code immediately can be beneficial, even if it's not perfect, as it allows for rapid prototyping and iteration.
• Diagrams and planning can be useful for complex projects, but may not always be necessary or effective.
• Some argue that programming is more about typing and less about thinking, with 90% of the work being just typing, while others disagree and emphasize the importance of thinking and problem-solving.
• The concept of thinking algorithmically is not well-defined and may vary depending on the context and individual perspectives.