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122 points foxfired | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.208s | source
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don-code ◴[] No.43564005[source]
I have a coworker who _excels_ at writing code - one of those engineers who can metabolize caffeine directly into code.

They write code to implement the all-important features. They write code to work around lack of process. They write code to work around problem people not doing their jobs well. They write code to work around buggy code by other developers. They write code to work around their own code, written weeks or months earlier.

I've been encouraging them to _reduce_ the amount of code they write, and instead consider the context around why they're writing the code. Code is just one way - and not always a particularly good way - that we can solve people and process problems.

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mcv ◴[] No.43565464[source]
I try to write as little code as possible. I do love writing code, but I've learned to love removing code even more.

The big problem in many companies is that often programmers are kept out of that context. Problems are discussed without programmers, and only tossed to programmers once non-programmers have decided what they need to do. I think we need to be more involved in those decisions.

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1. mberlove ◴[] No.43571046[source]
Completely agree. This is a great insight. IMHO part of the growth of a programmer is learning how the code fits the context, and a large part of that is writing less code, not more, or getting rid of some entirely.