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Making Hard Things Easy

type:: #StrangeLoop2023

Notes

some things that feel like they should be easy and can take a long time to do some systems are complex, and the same problems repeat / redundant

wizard zines

bash

• weird language with gotchas
  • eg. doesn't stop on failure / set -e
  • eg. function failures don't stop ; || disables set -e
  • lots of trivia -- which is something a computer can do well
  • shellcheck to the rescue

trick: use linters trick: share terrible things that computers have done

http

• headers
• CSS tricks
• MDN
• RFC 9110 -- from 2022

trick: share references

sql

• order of sql running is not the declarative language

trick: tell the story chronologically

hello world

• lots of depth in a simple thing, including hello world
• it is a natura lstructure, but a deep question
  • others can jump in

dns

• lots of hidden data
• confusing tools
  • these are the things I look at
  • this is how I use the tool
  • this is the information in my head about the tool

float.exposed

trick: look for the hidden complexity (code, computers) trick: eraser eyes -- show what you focus on trick: demo a confusing tool

share your knowledge

• don't need to be a blogger

Write my book on programming and share it

Generally: across Rush's talk, this talk, and everything else the abstractions are bad the tools are bad we could do a much better job at abstracting this Linter is an example, but LLMs may help bridge this gap

— Kunal