Re:Done Answering Questions Stack Overflow
by dmortin on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @11:53PM
(#26162849)
People want quick answers, not browsing documentation. SO is useful in the sense that it provides answers to specific questions which a google search finds instantly.
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Re:Done Answering Questions Stack Overflow
by Stratoscope on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @01:24AM
(#26163345)
Exactly. I code in half a dozen different languages that all have their own ways to split a string. When I can't remember the syntax to do this in, say, Python, being able to just say "python split string" and it goes to a reasonable SO answer is a big win for me.
I love reading docs too, so I can get a deeper understanding. But sometimes I just need an answer in a hurry.
Re:Done Answering Questions Stack Overflow
by bb88 on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @01:20AM
(#26163320)
True, but I've seen lots of answers that are "hacks" when there's usually a better, supported way that was spelled out in the docs, e.g. won't fail when you upgrade the library say.
Or they don't want to understand the issue at hand, so they put in a hack, when obtaining a complete understanding of the issue which might take 5 minutes of their time reading the docs, would provide a better solution.