I don't believe so(course, it is possible...), but even if what you are writing has been
written prior - it does not exactly mean it was written well OR written to fit
your particular situation. I think that is why modules were created in the first place.
There was a need for a particular piece of code and it could be useful
in different situations. Therefore, someone took it upon themselves to
create a module that could be useful for someone else down the road. So, my basic
answer to this question is no, I think that's a tad general to say that everything
has been created before. But on the other hand,
useful functions or routines(i.e. a Module or library) most likely have
been created OR will be created to be used by others.
My opinion on the above topic...is a bit mixed.
I don't think using a module is wrong, as long as one understands the logic and fully
understand the documentation to be as efficient as possbile using the module. But
as a newbie,
that's pretty difficult. Being in that situation, I think as long as one understands the concepts behind
what is going on - and then writes code to utilize the module, understanding everything
else will fall into place in time. Experience with modules helps enlighten the programmer
on how to use it most effectively, as well as writing something efficient. If I had
time as a newbie, I would do what you suggest snafu - I think it could
be an excellent idea and a wonderful learning experience. On the other hand, if I was a programmer
who was just starting out in Perl in a job situation and knew there was a module
out there that could help me - I'm going to use it due to time constraints and the
understanding that they know better than I on how to write a particular routine. | [reply] |
LD2, I agree. I also agree with the others regarding learning on your own time vs learning in the workplace. When time and money are of great concern (is there ever a time when they aren't? (= ) then going the module route makes common sense. On the other hand, I really was talking about learning on your own time as that is usually the best time to learn unless you are like me and like to try and learn by the seat of your pants at work on a dead-lined script.
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- Jim
| [reply] |
He is right. At least at some level.
The most productive coders are those that know the body of prior art and are expert a decomposing their current problem into chunks that have been done, and chunks that need some "new art".
And of course the new stuff must be put together in such a way it is usable off-the-shelf the next time a similar situation is encountered. If you find yourself doing something remotely similar to something you've already done, you should be looking for a way to take your prior work, abstract it up a level, and make it into prior art. | [reply] |