Dirwalker - Simplistic and Ergonomic Directory Browser

[TDarcos]

> Have F1 open a pop-up window showing what keys do what things, i.e. a cheat sheet. If F1 is in use, pick a different button and have the program say which one it is.

Indeed, this initial "cheat sheet" has to be put in a dedicated help screen. Simply, Dirwalker is in its infancy, many things are to be implemented, refined and described. Currently, wanna write...

Stop. The biggest problem in software development in my opinion is the failure to document work. There are literally millions of dollars of work - and I don't mean Zimbabwe dollars! - that has had to be thrown away or done over because nobody knows how to use it or what it does. Taking a few seconds when adding a command feature to write down what it does, means that when it is necessary to document it, it's already been done. Otherwise, you're spending hours trying to recreate something that probably would have taken a fraction of the time if done contemporaneously. Too many people treat documenting things like washing their hands after using the toilet; a good suggestion for others. Too many people see documentation as a chore to be put off as long as possible. Eventually, they regret this decision.

> Have F1 open a pop-up window showing what keys do what things, i.e. a cheat sheet. If F1 is in use, pick a different button and have the program say which one it is.

Indeed, this initial "cheat sheet" has to be put in a dedicated help screen. Simply, Dirwalker is in its infancy, many things are to be implemented, refined and described.

Great, the initial effort should be minimal. The later rewards will not be. Creating documentation is a form, of deferred gratification; you take a small amount of time now, while it's fresh in your head what it is for. Then later when you need it, it's done and easy to reference and use as opposed to the even worse chore of spending much more time to do it later.

> Having a copy of your work on Github protects you if something goes wrong.

I appreciate your suggestion, surely Github is a very useful platform for sharing/maintaining, yet, my habits are hard to break, kinda got used to the chaotic ways of old.

How old? I've been programming professionally since 1978.  Yes, that means I have 45 years experience. I still look at ways to make my job easier. One way to do that is to get the computer to do things for me, and just adding commit and push gives a record of all your intermediate work and the ability to rollback at any time is far too easy (and cheap!) a benefit to pass up.



I'd say source code control is one of very few things that breaks the "iron triangle" of "Good, easy, or cheap: pick any two." I's simple to set up, takes a few seconds to do, and costs nothing.




I'be heard it said that the military encourages enlistment/conscription by young men because they still think they're invulnerable; older people know they can die. I used to think I was very good until I saw other people's programs do things I couldn't even imagine. I have learned other people's works can be very instructive, even if you never use any of their code.. You have the humility to recognize you can learn from other people. Keep that mindset that the work of others can help. I have always felt I can learn something new from what others have done. Remember, one doesn't learn programming from writing programs, you learn from reading them.




The first time you make a serious mistake and break something - and if you claim you've never done this, I'd say you were lying - you'll find having backup systems in place will help immeasurably. Especially when you get the ability to go back to anywhere in your workflow and recover from there in addition to external backup, at least to me, it seems a no-brainer.




But in the end, it's your choice. Please try to remember my suggestion the next time you get stuck because there is no inadequate documentation for something. Then maybe you'll discover, as I have done painfully, how it bites you eventually. I still get burned by sometimes when something I "knew" I would only need for a quick-and-dirty one-time use, becomes something I end up using over again for something else. And guess where the documentation is? It isn't.