How much would it slow you down if you were required to get work done on a clean install of your OS, assuming you have your compilers/interpreters available, using a plain, unconfigured text editor and an uncustomized shell? Would your first step have to be setting things up to your preferences or could you sit down accomplish a moderately complex task in a reasonable time without it?
No more squiggly lines...
cover image of Windows Notepad used with permission from Microsoft
Oldest comments (26)
For me, syntax highlighting is a larger barrier than squiggly lines. Unhighlighted code is tough for me to look at even if I know the specific snippet already, which makes me feel weak :(
Hmm no I'm the type of guy who will then quickly start tweaking things to make it work "as it should". I can probably tolerate it and get something done but I won't leave it in that state for a very long time.
Definitely, syntax highlighting is a barrier to code readability. We are used to it. We could write programs without highlighting, autocompleting (in this case, we'll allocate more time for searching necessary methods/etc. in the documentation), rich editors, sure, we can do this. But why?:)
Most of the features of contemporary tools intend to decrease code reading/writing time.
Fair point - the "why" is tricky to pinpoint for this scenario. With bash scripts or Ansible, the "lead time" for getting a fresh install up to where you need it to be is minimal anyway.
I spend like a year writing my .vimrc, you better believe the first step is getting that baby back. I could work with plain vim in an uncustomized shell, but I wouldn't do that to myself.
We are so used to all those productivity tools like Emmet, Intelisenses, Syntax coloring, etc, that we see it as a norm.
No one would ever decide to code in Notepad, cause all the industry is based on "More done in less time" principle.
I am an absolute beginner, but I think there is one thing I'd rather have than not to code even the most basic of html sites:
1) a dark screen mode
The rest I think I could do without any help in the IDE (provided I have Internet access), but that's probably because I don't know anything complex yet. And even so: if I did this for any other reason than a masochistic streak, I would probably point out to the person asking me to do this that they have just decreased my productivity and increased the time I need by a fair amount.
So far I think I would have to reinstall everything to the way I like them.
I would say very much and thats not a bad thing, would you expect a woodcutter to work without Axe, I can't
Great analogy!
I'd be able to hack my way through getting some basic code to work, but no way I would be able to do anything nearly as fast or as accurate when I'm using my IDE :D.
If you use settings sync with VS Code, it is really easy to update on a fresh install :D
that is a great idea lol it reminds me of this though
xkcd.com/1205/