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Groups > comp.lang.java.programmer > #14997

Re: unchecked conversion warning.

From Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid>
Newsgroups comp.lang.java.programmer
Subject Re: unchecked conversion warning.
Date 2012-06-01 20:24 -0400
Organization A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID <jqbmg2$bot$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References (3 earlier) <jq8lij$g95$1@dont-email.me> <ydnhauvhz6o.fsf@shell.xmission.com> <RLydnRJ6QcLdflXSnZ2dnUVZ_jWdnZ2d@earthlink.com> <jqavlm$9j$1@dont-email.me> <ubmdnZGU44BDzlTSnZ2dnUVZ_q-dnZ2d@earthlink.com>

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On 6/1/2012 7:44 PM, Patricia Shanahan wrote:
> On 6/1/2012 10:54 AM, Eric Sosman wrote:
>> On 6/1/2012 11:44 AM, Patricia Shanahan wrote:
>>> On 6/1/2012 7:41 AM, Jim Janney wrote:
>>>> Eric Sosman<esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> (JavaDoc is both a blessing and a curse: It's a blessing in that
>>>>> developers *are* encouraged to write documentation, and it's a curse
>>>>> in that *developers* are encouraged to write documentation. ;)
>>>>
>>>> If I ever found myself screening applicants for a programming job (not
>>>> something that's ever likely to happen) I would be very tempted to ask
>>>> them to write a short essay. If you can write clearly then I know you
>>>> can think clearly too.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Help! I hate writing English essays, and was never very good at it.
>>>
>>> Perhaps I picked the wrong career, but it's a little late now that I'm
>>> retired on the proceeds of my ill-chosen career path. I needed to know
>>> that I would not be good at programming back in 1970.
>>
>> Pull the other one; it's got bells on.
>>
>
> Yes, I'm joking about reconsidering my choice of career, but if getting
> a programming job in 1970 had depended on English writing skill, I would
> have been rejected - I write much better now than I did then.

     Aside from pure linguistic tasks -- writing grammatically and
correct, spelling words propperly, punctuating well that, sort?
of thing -- The developer needs some skill at separating himself
from his own context when documenting his artifact.  The person
who wrote the code participated in the design discussions, knows
what approaches were considered and rejected (and why), remembers
only too clearly the bugs that were easy to fix and those that
kept him awake nights, and is aware that class X began as a bunch
of parallel `switch' statements in class Y before refactoring.
When he sets out to document class X, he may have a hard time
writing in a way that will be intelligible to someone who does
not share his prior knowledge.

     A documentor needs some of the same skills as a teacher, most
especially the knack of seeing things from the point of view of a
reader not yet versed in them.  "Empathy," if you will.

-- 
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid

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Thread

unchecked conversion warning. Jens - 2012-05-30 15:32 +0200
  Re: unchecked conversion warning. Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2012-05-30 13:48 +0000
    Re: unchecked conversion warning. Jens - 2012-05-30 15:52 +0200
  Re: unchecked conversion warning. Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-05-30 07:54 -0700
    Re: unchecked conversion warning. Jens - 2012-05-31 22:23 +0200
      Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-05-31 13:40 -0700
      Re: unchecked conversion warning. Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-05-31 16:50 -0400
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-05-31 17:18 -0700
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-06-01 08:14 +0200
          Re: unchecked conversion warning. Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-06-01 08:48 -0400
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-06-01 07:32 -0700
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-06-10 12:16 -0700
              Re: unchecked conversion warning. Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2012-06-10 22:08 +0000
                Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2012-06-10 17:09 -0700
                Re: unchecked conversion warning. Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2012-06-11 01:31 +0000
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-06-01 08:41 -0600
          Re: unchecked conversion warning. Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-06-01 08:44 -0700
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. markspace <-@.> - 2012-06-01 09:08 -0700
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2012-06-01 09:31 -0700
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-06-01 11:02 -0600
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-06-01 13:54 -0400
              Re: unchecked conversion warning. Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-06-01 16:44 -0700
                Re: unchecked conversion warning. Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-06-01 20:24 -0400
                Re: unchecked conversion warning. Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-06-01 19:36 -0700
          Re: natural/native language capabilities (was: unchecked conversion warning.) Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-06-01 11:01 -0600
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-06-10 12:13 -0700
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-06-20 19:28 -0400
  Re: unchecked conversion warning. Broad Liyn <broadliyn@gmail.com> - 2012-06-10 21:52 -0700
    Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2012-06-10 23:50 -0700
    Re: unchecked conversion warning. Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-06-11 00:06 -0700
      Re: unchecked conversion warning. Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-06-16 15:17 +0200
        Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-06-18 12:28 -0700
          Re: unchecked conversion warning. Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2012-06-19 23:14 +0200
            Re: unchecked conversion warning. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-06-19 17:15 -0700
      Re: unchecked conversion warning. Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-06-20 19:22 -0400
    Re: unchecked conversion warning. Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-06-20 19:20 -0400

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