commit 57112eeb4ff35fbbc7440ba170fe0e053f284eb6
parent fa13fce51ff783b4f623f6d889e3e22b27c737d6
Author: David Eisinger <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2023 12:07:26 -0400
Still no silver bullet
Diffstat:
2 files changed, 500 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git a/content/notes/first-it-must-work/index.md b/content/notes/first-it-must-work/index.md
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ references:
url: https://mcfunley.com/choose-boring-technology
date: 2023-07-04T03:40:17Z
file: mcfunley-com-5myzcq.txt
+- title: "There's still no silver bullet |> Changelog"
+ url: https://changelog.com/posts/still-no-silver-bullet
+ date: 2023-07-04T16:04:24Z
+ file: changelog-com-kqx1ni.txt
---
### Thoughts on priorities in software development
@@ -56,6 +60,7 @@ references:
* [When to Build Millennia Sewers][6]
* [We are wasting up to 20% of our time on computer problems, says study][7]
* [Choose Boring Technology][8]
+* [There's still no silver bullet][9]
[3]: https://grugbrain.dev/
[4]: https://world.hey.com/dhh/even-amazon-can-t-make-sense-of-serverless-or-microservices-59625580
@@ -63,3 +68,4 @@ references:
[6]: https://taylor.town/millennium-sewer
[7]: https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-problems.html
[8]: https://mcfunley.com/choose-boring-technology
+[9]: https://changelog.com/posts/still-no-silver-bullet
+\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/static/archive/changelog-com-kqx1ni.txt b/static/archive/changelog-com-kqx1ni.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,493 @@
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+ ____________________
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+ [21]Jerod Santo [22]changelog.com/posts
+
+There's still no silver bullet
+
+a friendly reminder that you haven't found the panacea
+
+ by [23]Jerod Santo [24]2023-05-24T16:25:22Z [25]#practices +2
+ * [26]#history
+ * [27]#react
+
+ The late, great [28]Fred Brooks wrote many words about software
+ engineering. You may have heard of [29]Brooks’s Law or read his seminal
+ book, [30]The Mythical Man-Month. Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably
+ heard at least one colleague proclaim:
+
+ Nine women can’t make a baby in one month!
+
+ This is a powerful metaphor for two reasons. First: it’s so vivid that
+ it’s hard to forget (and easy to recall in a time of need). Second: it
+ makes obvious a not-so-obvious conclusion. Which is:
+
+ Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
+
+ That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when your project is late.
+ But it’s a truth pill, which makes it worth choking down. Here’s
+ another truth pill that Brooks wrote in his paper [31]No Silver
+ Bullet–Essence and Accident in Software Engineering:
+
+ There is no single development, in either technology or management
+ technique, which by itself promises even one order of magnitude
+ [tenfold] improvement within a decade in productivity, in
+ reliability, in simplicity.
+ __________________________________________________________________
+
+ For those who don’t understand the silver bullet reference… it’s
+ [32]pulled from folklore where a bullet cast from silver is the only
+ weapon that can kill a werewolf. Over time a silver bullet has come to
+ represent “a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult
+ problem.” Brooks could have easily reached for [33]panacea instead, but
+ I think the shiny characteristic of silver makes it the perfect analog
+ to software solutions.
+ __________________________________________________________________
+
+ I’ve found myself referencing this a [34]couple [35]times recently.
+ Both of those conversations were in the context of [36]React, but the
+ principle applies to every over-adopted technology.
+
+ So, this post is a gentle reminder to my fellow software engineers:
+ * Does a new tool promise to solve all your problems? It won’t
+ * Do you think you’ve found the “one true tech”? You haven’t
+ * Have a shiny hammer that looks great for hitting screws? It isn’t
+
+ Please humor me while I [37]quote myself for a moment: (Hey, it’s
+ easier than writing)
+
+ IFRAME: [38]https://www.youtube.com/embed/btIc-_dGz9k
+
+ Subscribe to [39]our YouTube channel for more clips like this, live
+ show recordings, and more ✌️
+
+ We tend to be kind of lazy and just take the big hammer and hit all
+ the nails with it. Like, “Oh, I’ve found the panacea. This is gonna
+ solve all my problems”, because it does solve some of your problems
+ big-time.
+
+ But it’s also is gonna create other problems, and it’s also not
+ gonna fit in every place that you can shove it. I mean, I know
+ there’s React-based command line builders… And it’s like, okay, if
+ you like components, cool. That makes sense. But why is React
+ building your command-line app? I just don’t understand.
+
+ When I extemporaneously said “I just don’t understand”, I meant that
+ the choice confounds me. But I do understand why people might make it.
+
+ Saying “use the right tool for the job” is easy, but actually selecting
+ the right tool for the job is anything but. Good tools are hard to
+ find, hard to evaluate, hard to learn. We have constraints, we have
+ biases, we have shortcomings.
+
+ But that’s all part of the work.
+
+ And if you “just use Go” or “just use React” or “just use Postgres” for
+ every problem that crosses your keyboard, you’re just not putting in
+ the work.
+
+ (And I say this as a guy who uses Postgres for most things! 😆)
+ __________________________________________________________________
+
+ If you enjoyed reading this, you’ll probably enjoy [40]Changelog News,
+ my free weekly podcast + newsletter covering developer news worth your
+ attention. I keep it brief (~8 min), entertaining & always on-point.
+ Not so sure? Check out a [41]recent issue!
+
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+Discussion
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+ [42]Sign in or [43]Join to comment or subscribe
+
+ (BUTTON)
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+ (BUTTON) Solomon Ucko
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+ sollyucko
+ [44]Solomon Ucko
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+ * [47]LinkedIn
+
+ [48]2023-05-25T03:42:39Z ago
+
+ just use Rust, except possibly when you’re working with a platform
+ designed for another language (e.g. web => HTML/CSS/JS, Android => Java
+ or Kotlin, macOS/iOS => Objective-C or Swift, Microsoft Office macros
+ => Visual Basic), though Rust does have FFI crates for all of these.
+
+ [49]reply
+
+ (BUTTON)
+
+ (BUTTON) James Harr
+
+ jamesharr
+ [50]James Harr
+
+ James Harr
+
+ * [51]GitHub
+
+ [52]2023-05-27T12:55:20Z ago
+
+ Nine women can’t make a baby in one month!
+
+ I quoted this to my wife once while trying to explain the concept from
+ the book. She knew what I meant, but said (paraphrasing) it’s a micro
+ aggression to pick out women and I might want to pick another example.
+
+ After some reflection and an initial knee jerk internal reaction of
+ “no, it’s a fine example”, I agree with her. There’s no reason to
+ change the book – it is what it is, it was written at a point in time,
+ and it did it’s job of getting the readers to think. All that said, we
+ can come up with a better example for the present and future. I don’t
+ know what that example is, but I know we can do better.
+
+ [53]reply
+
+ (BUTTON)
+
+ (BUTTON) Jerod Santo
+
+ jerodsanto
+ [54]Jerod Santo
+
+ Jerod Santo
+
+ Omaha, Nebraska
+
+ Jerod co-hosts [55]The Changelog, crashes [56]JS Party, and takes out
+ the trash (his old code) once in awhile.
+ * [57]Twitter
+ * [58]GitHub
+ * [59]LinkedIn
+
+ [60]2023-05-27T13:36:23Z ago
+
+ How is it a micro aggression? I do not understand.
+
+ [61]reply
+
+ (BUTTON)
+
+ (BUTTON) James Harr
+
+ jamesharr
+ [62]James Harr
+
+ James Harr
+
+ * [63]GitHub
+
+ [64]2023-05-27T16:02:25Z ago
+
+ Well, maybe micro aggression isn’t the right term, but it’s something
+ that left a bad taste in her mouth and I’m trying to remember exactly
+ how she described it. I think you almost have to put your self in the
+ shoes of someone who 1) has had to work upstream in an industry because
+ of their gender 2) has had to deal with people in a society that see a
+ women’s “job” is to bear children and careers come second at best 3)
+ has had to deal with a lot of people having opinions over your body and
+ what you do with it, most of which do not share your anatomy. After
+ putting yourself in that position, the comparison starts to feel more
+ icky.
+
+ I’ll be honest, I’m defending a view I don’t entirely “get” and may not
+ be capable of understanding. However, after seeing her reaction when I
+ said that quote, this is one of those times where I’m going to say “I
+ believe you”. I’ve been incredibly privileged in this world as a white
+ male, and that’s a pretty big blindspot, so I’m putting trust in
+ someone else to see what’s there.
+
+ I’m not going to fault anyone for quoting it and you have nothing to
+ apologize for; Part of the reason that quote works so effectively is
+ how ridiculous it is. I’m just going to challenge people to do better,
+ and it’s going to be hard.
+
+ [65]reply
+
+ (BUTTON)
+
+ (BUTTON) Jerod Santo
+
+ jerodsanto
+ [66]Jerod Santo
+
+ Jerod Santo
+
+ Omaha, Nebraska
+
+ Jerod co-hosts [67]The Changelog, crashes [68]JS Party, and takes out
+ the trash (his old code) once in awhile.
+ * [69]Twitter
+ * [70]GitHub
+ * [71]LinkedIn
+
+ [72]2023-05-28T12:43:12Z ago
+
+ I’ll be honest, I’m defending a view I don’t entirely “get” and may
+ not be capable of understanding. However, after seeing her reaction
+ when I said that quote, this is one of those times where I’m going
+ to say “I believe you”
+
+ That’s a fair stance to take, but it doesn’t produce much of a
+ convincing argument that will drive people to change. If you want
+ people to starting using a better metaphor, I challenge you to come up
+ with one.
+
+ [73]reply
+
+ (BUTTON)
+
+ (BUTTON) Bryan Betts
+
+ bryan-ffd
+ [74]Bryan Betts
+
+ Bryan Betts
+
+ * [75]GitHub
+
+ [76]2023-06-28T12:58:27Z ago
+
+ “Over time a silver bullet has come to represent “a simple, seemingly
+ magical, solution to a difficult problem.”
+ Well, maybe - but what you’re actually referring to here is a magic
+ bullet, or Zauberkugel. Over time, some people - yes, including
+ award-winning engineers and scientists - have come to confuse the two.
+
+ [77]reply
+
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