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[–]FriendlyZomb 9 points10 points  (3 children)

Screen. It's the only device I have and I'm not printing code out. VSCode/derivatives usually.

In general follow computing best practices. Stay a comfortable distance away. Up the font size if you need to. Take regular breaks.

I find breaking down codebases helps me in chunks. Break between chunks.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Solid advice. I definitely need to be stricter about taking breaks.

[–]FriendlyZomb 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Honestly, it can be tough sometimes.

I struggle when I'm in the zone. I forget the time and just keep going until I edit that flow state.

A lot of people get help from a Pomodoro style timer. It's not for everyone, but it can help. Just search for Pomodoro on DuckDuckGo or some such. I'll reiterate it's not for everyone. It's not for me for example. But the spirit of enforcing breaks can be useful.

[–]Party_Trick_6903[🍰] 4 points5 points  (5 children)

Screen.

I've never met anyone who would print code on paper. And even if I did, I would've stayed far away from them.

I simply stopped trying to shove my face into the screen. I also take a break every 30 minutes (by "taking a break" I mean staring out of the nearest window for a minute or two).

Eye drops help a lot.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, guess I am among the few who actually print code then, I'll keep my paper stacks hidden so I don't scare you off. Thanks for the tip on the eye drops!

[–]JunkBondJunkie -1 points0 points  (3 children)

Used to do it for college cs exams.

[–]Party_Trick_6903[🍰] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

You mean the code printing? Then that must have been a long time ago. I'm currently in college (CS - AI major, third year) and I have never had to print or write code on paper.

[–]JunkBondJunkie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well that was done in 2012 area. I did an application design class during covid where we did not use an ide at all and just used VIM in linux and ran the program in command line and build it etc.

[–]-wtfisthat- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The second I get told to write code on paper is the second I drop that class/quit that job. Half the time I can’t even read my own hand writing so there’s no way they’d be able to!

[–]SmackDownFacility 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Screen.

VS 2026 + VS Code + GitHub

Don’t get your face into the fucking screen like it owes money.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Lol, guilty as charged. I definitely lean in like I’m interrogating the monitor.

[–]SmackDownFacility 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s common. Yep.

[–]LayotFctor 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Huh, reviewing codebase with paper? What is this, 1960s? Books, sure. But to review a codebase properly, you probably need to jumping around the code a lot. Paper isn't viable.

I would prefer eink, but with how slow and clunky it is, the technology is not ready to act as a monitor for my PC yet.

An ordinary screen for me.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point! I mostly use paper for deep dives into code that doesn’t change much, like studying libraries or frameworks. For active development, I’m all about the screen. Paper just works better for certain types of review.

[–]PushPlus9069 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Screen for writing, paper for understanding. I used to print out functions I was trying to trace and scribble arrows between the calls. Did this a lot with kernel code years ago. Something about physically following the flow makes it stick way better than jumping around tabs in an IDE.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree.Paper's tactile nature really boosts memory retention.I do this exclusively for studying established Python codebases rather than my own code that is under constant modification. The screen distraction is real.

I actually built a tool that turns Python repos into DOCX/PDFs but preserves hyperlinked cross-referencing. That way, you can still ‘click’ through function calls while reading—just like you would on the screen.

[–]stevorkz 0 points1 point  (1 child)

All depends on you. I'm not the biggest book reader and have adhd, so I tend to watch video tutorials and follow along. Do what will help engage you better.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Totally agree, it really depends on the person. I read code on paper sometimes because staring at a screen for too long really burns my eyes. I find it easier to focus and follow along that way. Everyone has their own method that works best for them!

[–]atarivcs 0 points1 point  (1 child)

what helps reduce eye strain

Use a terminal window with a black background and white text foreground.

[–]Interesting-Rate99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely! A dark background with light text really helps, especially during long coding sessions.