Productive Programming

When you get into the zone while coding, it is truly amazing the volume of work that you can get done. And at the same time it is amazing how quickly you can loose that head of steam by having to stop and look something up. The longer you spend searching the internet for the details about some library or a technique, the more likely you are to get distracted from your coding.

Google is great for searching. But I’ve found that it can also lead you down other paths that keep you from getting back to work. My suggestion is that the next time you find yourself needing to look something programming related up, instead try searching a more developer oriented site like Microsoft’s MSDN or Apple’s Developer Connection.

These sites are goldmines of information. I’ve been finding lately that if I go to Apple’s site first and look up my question there I get a better answer faster than I do if I go into the wilds of the internet. Back in the day when I worked on Microsoft stuff I found the same thing with the MSDN, it always had the answer. (And as an aside, if you are a Microsoft developer I highly recommend getting a subscription to the MSDN. Its expensive but if you or your office can afford it, you’ll find it to be a near bottomless source of examples, products, help, and ideas.)

By finding the answer faster I find that I’m able to stay on track and focused on the coding. That leads to more code/better code which leads to happiness all around.