from Hacker News

Programming and Writing

by revorad on 8/11/22, 10:56 AM with 29 comments

by rytill on 8/14/22, 2:41 AM
> I believe programming, in this regard, can learn something from writing: when writing the first core of a new system, when the original creator is still alone, isolated, able to do anything, she should pretend that this first core is her only bullet. During the genesis of the system she should rewrite this primitive kernel again and again, in order to find the best possible design. My hypothesis is that this initial design will greatly inform what will happen later: growing organically something that has a good initial structure will result in a better system, even after years of distance from the original creation, and even if the original core was just a tiny faction of the future mass the system would eventually assume.
I thought this paragraph had an interesting point. Does anyone have experience with testing this hypothesis?
by diamondap on 8/14/22, 12:56 AM
Funny. I wrote a similar article, with almost the same title, seventeen years into my programming career, after writing my first novel.
https://adiamond.me/2015/01/writing-and-programming/
The huge help that programming gives to a novelist is the practice of breaking down huge, sprawling problems into smaller, manageable, interconnected pieces. As a programmer/writer, you also learn to keep the big picture in mind, so the pieces naturally assemble back into a whole.
by keyle on 8/13/22, 10:42 PM
Note, that post is over a year old and it looks like the book is available here
http://antirez.com/news/136
I also just realised the name was familiar, it's the redis guy that moved on.
by wellpast on 8/13/22, 10:38 PM
Programming may be related to one half of fiction writing - the structural and logical facets. There is a whole other half of emotional authenticity and character building that make it far broader and more difficult than programming.
That is, if you want an effective product.
The thing is in programming there is no such “Mom” whose approval will validate the program. It will either run and do it’s job or not. Whereas in writing, you will at least always have your mother in the audience that will say “Sure sweety That’s a novel”
by qazpot on 8/14/22, 6:46 AM
Is there any word when programmers engage in some other activity and then realize and rationalize that the said activity has a lot common with programming.
by didgetmaster on 8/14/22, 2:11 AM
Sometimes I wish books and movies were a bit more like software. We have all read or watched something as version 1.0 and thought "that chapter or scene needs to be rewritten". Some things need big changes and not just minor edits.
It would be cool if version 1.0 would be released and get user feedback on what works and what doesn't and then the author or director would make big changes and release a version 2.0.
by slim on 8/14/22, 8:31 AM
```
  you know that writer block also happens in programming
```
never thought about calling it simply "writer block". spot on
by roberuto on 8/14/22, 2:33 AM
OP, I always thought the 2 processes, writing code and writing an dissertation, where the same activity. Both must be written clearly enough for a HUMAN audience, even though coding is supposed to be read by the compiler / interpreter.
A good text flows in the mind when read, and the reader builds a story in their minds. Of course coding is more complex, because sometimes there is a story inside a story, but... it is always a story.
by rufius on 8/14/22, 1:51 AM
When asked (usually by students and junior engineers) which class helped me most with my career, I always cite Senior Year High school English (American 12th grade). Mrs. Scott taught me more about organizing my thoughts and structuring a paper (and program) than any CS class I took ever did.
by deltathreetwo on 8/13/22, 11:17 PM
What is programming not related to? Seriously a huge portion of posts here are just about programming analogies.