Of course this seems like a bad idea, especially since most developers don't bother to:
1) Fully think through what they are doing (clearly they are experts)
2) Comment their code, regardless of where it is in the stack
Generally, when I comment code, I dont do things like "this adds a solid black border". Ya-don't-fucking-say? What should be done, is comment on how this piece of code relates to the larger system at hand, how it interacts with other portions of code, or what else it relies on to work, an example of where it is used, and what not to expect from it. If developers thought this way, we would:
1) Overall have better software in this world, as it requires that the developer think through what he is writing thoroughly instead of rapid-browser iterations and "it works I'm done."
2) Help other developers in our own project, and anyone else who is trying to learn from the source without the benefit of the context the code was written in.
As time goes on I see developers getting comfortable with Ruby, Coffeescript, and the like. They don't comment at all because "the code is readable." Well, if it was readable, they wouldn't fucking call it code! All this really tells me is they don't respect their craft or anyone else who needs to interface or change that code after they've moved on.
As professionals we should take pride in our work. If engineers built bridges like we do software many many people would die and software would be illegal. Now of course development is a little different as most software crashes don't kill people (although some certainly could), but don't use that argument as a way to get comfortable and not do your job with pride.
1) Fully think through what they are doing (clearly they are experts)
2) Comment their code, regardless of where it is in the stack
Generally, when I comment code, I dont do things like "this adds a solid black border". Ya-don't-fucking-say? What should be done, is comment on how this piece of code relates to the larger system at hand, how it interacts with other portions of code, or what else it relies on to work, an example of where it is used, and what not to expect from it. If developers thought this way, we would:
1) Overall have better software in this world, as it requires that the developer think through what he is writing thoroughly instead of rapid-browser iterations and "it works I'm done."
2) Help other developers in our own project, and anyone else who is trying to learn from the source without the benefit of the context the code was written in.
As time goes on I see developers getting comfortable with Ruby, Coffeescript, and the like. They don't comment at all because "the code is readable." Well, if it was readable, they wouldn't fucking call it code! All this really tells me is they don't respect their craft or anyone else who needs to interface or change that code after they've moved on.
As professionals we should take pride in our work. If engineers built bridges like we do software many many people would die and software would be illegal. Now of course development is a little different as most software crashes don't kill people (although some certainly could), but don't use that argument as a way to get comfortable and not do your job with pride.