Notifications
Clear all

Information overload

34 Posts
4 Users
2 Likes
1,105 Views
(@lhedrick9701)
Member
Joined: 9 months ago
Posts: 11
Topic starter  

@hilldweller Well, I have been hearing the same story Since 1977.  The code needs to look like _____ "fill in the blank".  Content seems to get lost.   While I agree conventions can make life easier, it just doesn't always happen.   I once worked with an absolutely brilliant software engineer who had the power to do more work than a staff of 20 and he knew it and his code worked.   He did so much work, generated so muck code, that the code quickly went to other to support it so he could take on more, at times I was one of those people.   His code was extremely dense, a lot of functionality packed onto 1 screen.   Once another person modified one of his long complex arithmetic expressions and added ()s to make the order of precedence clear, easy to see.   He saw it and took them out.   His attitude was "you are an engineer, learn the order of prescience or do something else".  Why did he get away with this stuff?  Because he could produce volumes of working code and management would let him do anything he wanted.  He is now a principle software architect at VMWare.    

These attitudes from just a few are what drove me leave large software development projects.   I got tired of working with people.  One little board, working somewhat alone is a better deal.   As for all the ideas of code formats, I blow with the wind.   If it will compile I deal with it and I try not to make things difficult for others.


   
ReplyQuote
(@hilldweller)
Member
Joined: 1 year ago
Posts: 111
 

Posted by: @lhedrick9701

 Once another person modified one of his long complex arithmetic expressions and.......

 

Big smile time ! A long time ago I wrote a package for a big machine tool in Turbo Pascal. Basically a big database to create machining lists for timber components. As part of the contract the company got the source code. The company had an ex-lecturer as head of IT and he had a real go at me, "that is terrible code, there are not enough comments". I replied "Pascal is self documenting". "Rubbish" he said. I later realised he was right. As a young man I could almost type out all the code from memory but I learned that that memory does not last. He was right.

 

What an incredible product Turbo Pascal was. Until then all I had was BASIC. So this would have been 1983(ish).

Then came Delphi which was deep joy to write Windows programs in.

I even have a load of Lazarus on this PC, for old time's sake, but I've not used it in anger. I'm afraid Python has taken over for me for GUIs because it will run on so many platforms.

 


   
ReplyQuote
(@lhedrick9701)
Member
Joined: 9 months ago
Posts: 11
Topic starter  

I'm afraid Python has taken over for me for GUIs because it will run on so many platforms.

 

 

I have yet to look at Python.   For a while things got crazy with all the languages.  Shell, C, C++, Java, Pearl, PHP, SQL now Python.   I just decided to stick with C.   The software business has a way of taking over a persons life.    The idea of a small controller board with basically only my code is very appealing.   At some point I may have to dig into Python since it seems to have a solid foot hold.

 


   
ReplyQuote
Ron
 Ron
(@zander)
Father of a miniature Wookie
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 6981
 

@hilldweller When you change the board, the definition of LED_BUILTIN changes as well, although the value may be the same.

Basically, you have a concatenation of 3 sets of libraries, builtin (constant), hardware that changes with the board selected (as well as examples) and the Custom Libraries you have installed through either Tools/Manage Libraries or Sketch/Include Library/Add .ZIP Library... which are mostly github zip files downloaded to your PC.

It's all documented in the Arduino.cc site under Libraries.

First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, and 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's and MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
Sure you can learn to be a programmer, it will take the same amount of time for me to learn to be a Doctor.


   
ReplyQuote
Page 3 / 3