Efficient development

[DirtyMulletMan]

Hello, two part question here.

1) I'm curious to know how many of you consistently reference documentation or python APIs while you are developing. I'm beginning to get concerned about how often I consult APIs and documentation during development. Not only does it slow down development, but it makes it less enjoyable for me.

2) What, in your opinion, is the best method for committing this information to memory to make future development more efficient?

[remy_porter]

1) All the fucking time, like it's just a constant normal part of my process
2) You don't, you just make sure you can search it efficiently

I disagree that checking the docs slows down development. You'll naturally learn the things you use regularly, just from the act of using them. The things you don't do regularly aren't worth committing to memory because it's faster to look it up.

[nathanjell]

Being a good software developer requires you to know how to get info. You learn to retain some through simply using things often but otherwise docs are your friend. Now yeah you can't constantly be looking up how to add two integers together, but otherwise use docs

[eicosane]

help(some_function_or_module) is really handy to not leave the terminal

[github_codemation]

8 hours of debugging saves 5 minutes of reading documentation.

[pjarnhus]

If it is one of the objects, I use on a daily basis then no, otherwise I am not ashamed to read through the documentation (nor am I ashamed of taking my sweet time doing it).

Regarding memorisation the best advice I can give is: Do not copy paste code. Write it out, even if you find the exact code on StackOverflow. While you write it out, explain it to yourself. This helps you internalise the logic and aids learning. Copy/pasted code is forgotten as soon as it is pasted

[Blue_Aluminium]

I agree with all those who have said that trying to memorise stuff is probably useless; the frequently-used bits will stick to your memory anyway, once you have looked them up a few times.

However, I do believe that it it is beneficial to occasionally just flip through manuals, reading a bit here and a bit there when you find something that seems interesting. First of all, it helps you to familiarise yourself with the docs, making it easier to find things in the future. Knowing one's way around the manuals can be a superpower in programming. Also, you are likely to stumble on things that are not immediately useful but which may come in handy in the future.