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Some software bloat is OK

(waspdev.com)
50 points senfiaj | 1 comments | 04 Nov 25 08:27 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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karmakaze ◴[04 Nov 25 14:22 UTC] No.45811352[source]▶
No software bloat isn't ok. Tech debt can be ok, and software bloat can be the consequence of tech debt taken on with eyes open. But to say that (some) software bloat without considerations is ok is how we have the fastest machines imaginable and still end up with UI that can't keep up visually with keystrokes.

Quoting Knuth without the entire context is also contributing to bloat.

> Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered.

> We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%.

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locknitpicker ◴[04 Nov 25 16:35 UTC] No.45812879[source]▶
> But to say that (some) software bloat without considerations is ok is how we have the fastest machines imaginable and still end up with UI that can't keep up visually with keystrokes.

Is this actually a problem, though? The blog features a section on tradeoffs, and dedicates an entire section to engineering tradeoffs. Perceived performance is one of these tradeoffs.

You complain about UI not keeping up with key strokes. As a counterexample I point out Visual Studio Code. It's UI is not as snappy as native GUI frameworks, but we have a top notch user experience that's consistent across operating systems and desktop environments. That's a win, isn't it? How many projects can make that claim?

The blog post also has a section on how a significant part of the bloat is bad.

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1. grayhatter ◴[04 Nov 25 17:23 UTC] No.45813501[source]▶
> You complain about UI not keeping up with key strokes. As a counterexample I point out Visual Studio Code. It's UI is not as snappy as native GUI frameworks, but we have a top notch user experience that's consistent across operating systems and desktop environments. That's a win, isn't it? How many projects can make that claim?

Is it a win? Why? Consistency across platforms is a branding, business goal, not an engineering one. Consistency itself doesn't specify a direction, it just makes it more familiar, and easier to adopt without effort. It's easier to sit all day, and never exercise.

It's what everybody does, or it's what everybody uses, has never translated into it being good.

Notably; the engineers I respect the most, and the ones making things that I enjoy using, none of them use vscode. I'm sure most will read this as an attack against their editor of choice, SHUN THE NON BELIEVER! But hopefully enough will realize that it's not actually an attack on them nor their editor, but instead I'm advocating for what is the best possible option, and not the easiest to use. Could they use vscode? Obviously yes, they could. They don't because the more experience you have, the easier it is to see that bloat get in the way.