

How often do you "Google" while programming? - zengr

Let's face it. We all google/search a lot while programming. I am a new programmer (from the last 2yrs) and I hate it, but when ever I am stuck, I search for quick solutions online.<p>What about you guys? How can this "problem" be solved? or...its ok?
======
brisance
It depends a lot on the experience/background of the person, as well as the
problem at hand. Most programming "problems", like any other engineering
field, have already been solved, so there's no shame in turning to a search
engine or even better, StackExchange, for solutions. The best coders are the
ones that are learning all the time.

On the other hand, there is usually an impedance mismatch between the
description of the problem and the actual solution. Take a look at the horror
stories on The Daily WTF. <http://thedailywtf.com/>

Anyway, try to read as much code as possible, both good and bad, find a
mentor(s), be able to take constructive criticism, and just persevere, and you
should be fine.

------
viraptor
My search history page says ~70 queries/day on work days and ~30 on weekends -
majority of that stuff is about programming. So yeah it's not a problem.

That said - I don't even bother remembering the links to documentation. When I
need something I just go to "python docs multiprocessing" or similar address
and hope that I'm lucky. Search is the new URL ;)

~~~
jedbrown
Same here, but that might not be the best example since there is `pydoc
multiprocessing`, perhaps integrated with your editor.

------
jbr
I've been programming since middle school and I'm now almost 30 and I google
all the time. There's too much to remember, and I wouldn't want to burden my
memory with too many specifics. I try to focus on remembering generic
patterns, since those are far harder to search for.

------
rndmcnlly0
More than 10 years in (implies mastery, right?) I still search all the time.
However, I'm not looking for solutions per se. Instead, I'm just looking to
refresh myself on the available building blocks (whether it be the API or
whatever syntactic sugar the particular language at hand provides). In
exchange for this constant dependence on external technical reference, you can
gain fluency in a large number of languages libraries and tools.

Learn the big, important concepts in a variety of domains, and don't ever
worry about memorizing the finicky details (which might very well change in
the next release anyway).

------
Kliment
I find searching is the fastest way to find documentation for library
functionality as well as example code for when the documentation didn't cut
it. I don't see why you should hate it. I did a fair bit of Win32 stuff a
while back, and still poke around the occasional bit of Windows driver code
when trying to make weird/outdated stuff work. The documentation on those is
terrible. Searching is the only way. I mostly write Python now, but I still
find I rather search modulename+functionname than use help().

------
exline
Its perfectly ok. A lot of times others have already ran into the particular
problem and already solved it. You need to understand the solution, just don't
blindly accept some random solution found on the internet. If you do this,
then your code will get ugly fast and you will not know what it is doing. But
there is nothing wrong with finding a solution, studying it, understanding it,
and then using it in your own code.

------
c1sc0
I remember only 5 years a gruffy old sysadmin preaching "Can't you guys code
without googling all the time? Programming is not what it used to be." I
listened to his advice for a while & I'm thankful for it. I now try to do big
conceptual work in offline mode but google like crazy for all the nitty-gritty
details.

------
benkant
$needle, $haystack

or

$haystack, $needle

~~~
Throlkim
I google this nearly every time I use a PHP function.

------
clueless123
Technology changes fast. So fast, that now days the most effective strategy is
not to know everything, but to know how to find relevant docs efficiently. Of
course you also need basic skills for understanding and using them properly..
Now _that_ , comes from experience.

------
jwdunne
I google all the time at work. Hell, I google all the time at home and 90% of
the time it's about programming in some way or form.

I think Google is one of the greatest and most useful tools in my very meager
toolbox.

------
spooneybarger
It is like reaching for a reference book albeit, perhaps one that is less
edited. Reference books exist for a reason... to reference.

~~~
zengr
But, the old way of referencing is using an index, so I think I should go to
javadocs and look for the method and not search for "how to do xyz+java"

~~~
rcfox
Why on Earth would you limit yourself to the old way of doing things? You're
not recreating a war; you're trying to get stuff done.

