

Ask HN: Should I code in the path of least resistance? - ElongatedTowel

So far I&#x27;ve been sticking to a handful of personal preferences and tried to adhere to set standards depending on which programming language I&#x27;m using. The problem is, the number of languages I&#x27;m interested in has increased as well as my interest in open source. I&#x27;m finding myself unable to set and adhere to guidelines anymore just because I can&#x27;t keep them in my head and with the rise of github it became clear that some of my personal preferences are the complete opposite of what is popular. Add errors (like YAML not working with tabs) and clashing rules (people like to use tabs and align with spaces in C++ which blows up in Python) and I end up fighting more against those rules than actually writing code.<p>How do programmers cope? Doing your own thing and then converting a large codebase if it goes on github doesn&#x27;t really seem to work. I&#x27;ve been converting tabs to spaces for example in all my projects where I only have a private repository and can rewrite the history.<p>I&#x27;m thinking about creating guidelines I strictly adhere to while at the same time using features and settings which are the most common among people writing code (like using spaces instead of tabs). But for some languages that seems like a pretty though thing to do. Also I might be overthinking things. But there is a part in me that tries to resist because I&#x27;m giving up something I prefer. I have my editor and linters set up the way I like it, but there is a limit to what is possible and configuring them is a challenge by itself.
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logn
Ain't nobody got time for that.

Forget about all of this and write software. Put a moratorium on learning new
languages and totally strike from your brain any code style concerns. When
there's a time to worry about languages, formatting, and style, worry at that
time, not now as it's a subconscious way to procrastinate or avoid thinking
about actual programming issues.

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wallflower
"if you hold open your hand you can cup water in your palm, but if you close
your grip, afraid that you need to control the water, if you squeeze tight
your hand, you will lose it all."

