Laz's Big Fat QBasic Page

Subj: Programming is Poetry
Date: 97-07-02 14:23:50 EDT
From: christie@intonet.co.uk (Bobby K)
To: Laz's Big Fat QBasic List

      This is an aspect of programming advice that seems rather neglected
- the artistic side of programming.
Here's my advice:
      Before you program figure out WHO your programing this for + WHY.
Is it to make you look like a good programmer (dangerous teretory...)  Is it
just a game for you to play w/ friends (OK)  or are you programming it cos
you will enjoy proggraming it (These always make the best programs)
      Think of all the different ways you know to achieve the problems you
might have presented to you in the corse of coding, and choose the one that
you know you can manage, and that is not complicated.
      Also, debugging should be looked on as an oppertunity, not a boring
chore.  You are the detective and the bug is the criminal - so go blow him
away!  If things arn't going well, just go right down to the very simplest
level.  Spilt the program into individual lines of code, and go through them
!one at a time!, printing out any important variables.  You *will* get the
sucker eventually.
      Becuase programs are artistic, program them beutifly.  Write out all
the declare subs and dim shared's first.  Give your variables concise names,
but only resort to single letter variables for tempory variables, such as
for..next counter variables.
      If you havn't got any ideas for a program it may actually be that
your never quite satisfied by what you program.  If this is the case then
write a program that you know you can do easily, but then, once it's
completed, make it slightly better, and better, and better...  After a while
you'll have a satifsyingly good program.
      Dont be downtrodden if you can never quite seem to make a program as
good as you would like.  Just spend a little time creating a commented,
organised program, and then, when you've finished, scroll though your
program and think - wow! i did all this.
      
      Above all, never forget that programming is every bit as poetic as a
song.

      Hope this inspires you all to stop reading and go do some programming.
      Thanks 4 your time, Bobby K (Programmer/Philosopher)