Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!dg!fs06!pds From: pds@lemming.webo.dg.com (Paul D. Smith) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: hardcopy/productivity inverse correlation Message-ID: Date: 13 Nov 90 20:25:13 GMT References: <46@resumix.UUCP> Sender: root@dg.dg.com Organization: NSDD/ONAD, Data General Corp., Westboro, MA Lines: 41 In-reply-to: stevans@resumix.UUCP's message of 12 Nov 90 22:24:34 GMT [] I invite commentary and/or anecdotes for or against the following [] thesis: [] There is, in general, an inverse correlation between the amount [] of source code hardcopy a programmer employs and the [] productivity of that programmer. [] In my observation, the least competent programmers tend to print [] updated listings of every line of every file of their source code [] at the same time every day, and go through them with highlighters. [] The best programmers I have known don't even care if "lpr" exists [] or not. Hmm. I'm not prepared to comment on most cases of this thesis, but I will propose a lemma: Lemma 1: The above thesis does not hold if the programmer in question is working with code not originally written by himself or herself. I rarely resort to printouts of my own code (I'm sure I'm at least a competent programmer ... :-), but whenever I have to maintain / modify code written by someone else I generally end up having to get a printout and wade around in it. GNU Emacs TAGS, etc. are great, but even with 55-line windows like I have on my AViiON workstation I sometimes can't get all the relevent info on at once ... This is especially true (obviously) with uncommented and/or awkwardly structured code. *My* code is quite clear to anyone looking at it, so obviously Lemma 1 does not hold for programmers working with my code :-) :-) -- paul ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Paul D. Smith | pds@lemming.webo.dg.com | | Data General Corp. | | | Network Services Development | "Pretty Damn S..." | | Open Network Applications Department | | ------------------------------------------------------------------