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Comment by dethstar | Hacker News Reader

When i was taking my first programming related class, algorithms, the teacher told us we were like architechts, there shouldnt be errors/failures. Is it accepted for them to say: whoops building fell, guess i'll rebuild it?

While software can't be perfect, it has to be as flawless as possible. Code isn't cheap, it takes time. Who knows what else you could've built/made/learnt instead of fixing something cuz it costs "nothing"

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> When i was taking my first programming related class, algorithms, the teacher told us we were like architechts, there shouldnt be errors/failures. Is it accepted for them to say: whoops building fell, guess i'll rebuild it?

That's an absolutely terrible approach to software development. You can test a program as many times as you want before releasing it, but there's no equivalent iterative process for making a house.

If you develop with that attitude, you'll never get anything of real value done. After all, "le mieux est l'ennemi du bien."

Apples and oranges when you jump from algorithm design to software in general.

An algorithm has mathematical underpinnings and can be created entirely on paper first. Turning ideas into applications however is drastically enhanced by prototyping extensively.

Agreed. If you have the wrong algorithm, it doesn't matter how well you implement it: it'll still give you the wrong answer. But no matter how right your algorithm is, if your I/O doesn't work properly, you'll still get the wrong answer. And that's just for things involving a single algorithm; if you're talking about the larger piece of software as a whole (since a lot of programming is not algorithms, algorithms is just one of the harder parts), testing and prototyping and all that becomes even more important.

> Is it accepted for them to say: whoops building fell, guess i'll rebuild it?

This is pretty much why real engineers scoff at the title 'software engineer.'

Unless they program in Ada.

I'm living in my second house that an engineer has owned. Avoid their ex houses if possible. The side gate had a post concreted in with a block 75x75x75cm. I had to get a drain though it. A week of evenings with a sledge hammer. I excavated 10 tons of concrete from the front yard that was buried there for some reason, and it stopped trees growing. I got guys in to do the 90 ton slab in the backyard. The previous house had a raised garden that was in the way that was made of 30cm thick reinforced concrete - 2cm thick rebar to keep the roses in. It was days of work to remove the small garden. Durability is one thing, but over engineering is damn expensive pain in the arse.

I excavated 10 tons of concrete from the front yard that was buried there for some reason, and it stopped trees growing.

It was probably a root barrier which was put there for the sole purpose of stopping the trees from growing and destroying your house.

Your teacher is... not the best.

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