perlmeditation
Crulx
Have you ever really thought about what an odd process debugging is? <br>
You sit there, pitter patting away at the keyboard, staring at the screen. <br>
Looking for something you know is there, because it manifests itself <br>
or because you <i>know</i> it is there. Switching editors, adding prints, <br>
running debuggers. Trying to logically eliminate the problem. <br>
<br>
I don't think I have ever logically eliminated a bug. The solution comes to you, <br>
Like a flash.<br>
Like enlightenment, what was previously mysterious is now clear. <br>
Logic helped, I have no doubts. But the solution does not come from logic. <br>
The real solution is comes from somewhere else, I don't know the place. <br>
But I can feel it and I know I have entered that place. <br>
It feels like returning home.<br>
<br>
When I try to explain what coding is like, I always try to explain debugging. <br>
A fruitless exercise, like explaining the moon to those who do not look up.<br>
Still, the reflection of the moon in water can show them what to look for.<br>
I think the Hacker's worldview is shaped by debugging. Dealing with the <br>
computer is like dealing with reality. Harsh, Sharp, Unforgiving.<br>
Though Life is a taskmaster far more cruel than the interpreter. <br>
<br>
Monks gain insite into life by their way of viewing reality. <br>
Hackers gain insite into life by how they debug. <br>
I've never met a good Hacker that couldn't debug. <br>
<br>
Crulx