Re:Hacker Newspaper: reformatted Hacker News
by raganwald on Tuesday April 14, 2009 @09:53AM
(#561456)
It's surprising in the world of programming, in which precision is essential, there are so many advocates for cruftiness in English.
In programming, precision is essential. In human communication, it is often inconsequential. We sped our time railing against our arbitrary and fickle natures, demanding precisely worded specification, imposing workflow and permissions straightjackets on programs, when in reality all that matters is that people feel happy when they use what we build.
If someone feels happy saying the words "performant" and "utilize" to me, that is enough.
In programming, precision is essential. In human communication, it is often inconsequential. We sped our time railing against our arbitrary and fickle natures, demanding precisely worded specification, imposing workflow and permissions straightjackets on programs, when in reality all that matters is that people feel happy when they use what we build.
If someone feels happy saying the words "performant" and "utilize" to me, that is enough.