Spade's recent activity

  1. Comment on Thoughts on naming things in ~comp

    Spade
    Link Parent
    You make a perfectly fair point, I could definitely have been more illustrative of what I mean here. I apologize, this is one of the first things I've written with the intent to actually shove it...

    You make a perfectly fair point, I could definitely have been more illustrative of what I mean here. I apologize, this is one of the first things I've written with the intent to actually shove it in faces :3

    My intent in writing here is to try and make the strengths and weaknesses of using descriptive names and pet names clear. I'm not trying to say that one way is necessarily always better than the other, just that there are some situations which warrant one approach, and others that are best met with another.

    So, in the case of a variable that will only ever store data on one specific thing, we would benefit from a descriptive name, because its purpose is as simple as it gets, and it doesn't depend on another function or library or what-have-you.

    In situations where we expect things to change relatively quickly, or where we are trying to name things that are made up of a bunch of things, pet names might be better. So, take a website meant to convert GIFs into PNGs. We could name that GIFtoPNG.lol, but that name will become somewhat inaccurate if our service offering expands, or something (imaginary and unrealistic, in this case) happens that fundamentally changes that service offering.

    Another commenter also linked to an excellent post that suggests naming on a spectrum over the binary I've been thinking about, which I think is probably the best way to go about this now. As best as I remember, the writer there kind-of suggests descriptive names that get more ambiguous as it gets harder to be descriptive, so as to avoid huge names whilst still providing at least hints as to what is actually going on. I maintain that it is still probably best to try to minimize the amount of situations wherein you need to do this, though.

    ///

    Just checked, the comment and post I'm referring to is the one by skybrian linking to this

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Thoughts on naming things in ~comp

    Spade
    Link Parent
    Hah, I've never considered anything like that. That's really cool, actually. I don't see myself picking it up as common practice, but that's a really creative application of AI.

    Hah, I've never considered anything like that. That's really cool, actually. I don't see myself picking it up as common practice, but that's a really creative application of AI.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Spade
    Link Parent
    I appreciate the recommendation! I'll check them out, but it has been a long-time goal of mine to grow some artistic ability, so these will probably only make for placeholders :P

    I appreciate the recommendation! I'll check them out, but it has been a long-time goal of mine to grow some artistic ability, so these will probably only make for placeholders :P

    1 vote

  5. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Spade
    Link
    I am currently using Godot to make a minigolf mobile game. The courses are procedurally-generated with an ever-growing pool of parts that I'm modelling in Blender. Ironically, despite the...

    I am currently using Godot to make a minigolf mobile game. The courses are procedurally-generated with an ever-growing pool of parts that I'm modelling in Blender.

    Ironically, despite the relatively no-frills art style I've gone with, I've learnt a lot about shaders trying to give the ball a shadow. Unfortunately, I couldn't get things exactly right, so I ended up just using a moving decal.

    5 votes

  6. Comment on Having self-control leads to power: a new study with 3,500 people finds that showing self-control influences how powerful an individual is perceived to be by their peers in ~science

    Spade
    Link
    If only I could cultivate some!

    If only I could cultivate some!

    5 votes

  7. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Spade
    Link
    I've recently been using Zig to write a lightweight IM/VOIP/Videochat suite. I don't have much experience with designing APIs and whatnot, nor experience with HID interactions, so I'm learning plenty

    I've recently been using Zig to write a lightweight IM/VOIP/Videochat suite. I don't have much experience with designing APIs and whatnot, nor experience with HID interactions, so I'm learning plenty

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    Thanks, I appreciate the reassurance! To be perfectly honest, I'd love to do both or either, it just seems that the impetus to actually get there needs to be so, so large -- and that is probably...

    Thanks, I appreciate the reassurance! To be perfectly honest, I'd love to do both or either, it just seems that the impetus to actually get there needs to be so, so large -- and that is probably detrimental, because I feel that I often have valuable things to say that I end up not saying.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    I hadn't considered that angle -- that's really interesting. I certainly felt something akin to that when I woke up and remembered that I'd posted this. Granted, it was diluted by a hefty dose of...

    I hadn't considered that angle -- that's really interesting. I certainly felt something akin to that when I woke up and remembered that I'd posted this. Granted, it was diluted by a hefty dose of what I'm calling "ohgodohfuckohshitohfuck," but still. Thank you for sharing!

    5 votes

  10. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    Thank you for sharing. It's nice to hear that I'm not alone in my feelings, and you've certainly struck on a few sentiments that I feel but didn't really articulate.

    Thank you for sharing. It's nice to hear that I'm not alone in my feelings, and you've certainly struck on a few sentiments that I feel but didn't really articulate.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    That's lovely, thank you for the anecdote. I hope the rogue castle poster is alright ;-;

    That's lovely, thank you for the anecdote. I hope the rogue castle poster is alright ;-;

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    Up until just this moment, that was my strategy!

    Up until just this moment, that was my strategy!

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Does anyone else have posting anxiety? in ~tech

    Spade
    Link Parent
    That's... Actually a very interesting process. Thank you for sharing.

    That's... Actually a very interesting process. Thank you for sharing.

    4 votes

  14. Does anyone else have posting anxiety?

    ~tech Ask (survey)
    To preface, I have accounts on multiple link aggregators, three microblogging platforms, and I have my own (transiently online) blog. I'm a member of more niche Discord servers than I can count,...

    To preface, I have accounts on multiple link aggregators, three microblogging platforms, and I have my own (transiently online) blog. I'm a member of more niche Discord servers than I can count, and I'm in a few other nooks where people generally seem to gather and talk. Despite all that, I find that it's incredibly rare that I ever actually participate in any of the discussions that I see taking place, and that's something that I think I'd like to change.

    I think part of the problem is that I grew up in the formative years of the "modern" net, and was always taught that you should be careful about what you say online (and, implicitly, that saying nothing is probably even better), lest an axe murderer track you down and explodify your tibia while you sleep.

    So, does anyone else, or have stories about, posting anxiety? Anyone gotten over it? Am I just crazy?

    81 votes

  15. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Spade
    Link
    I've been working on a crazy-eights type game called ono! for about a month now. I don't consider it to be technically impressive, but it has been an excellent way for me to find my way around...

    I've been working on a crazy-eights type game called ono! for about a month now.

    I don't consider it to be technically impressive, but it has been an excellent way for me to find my way around Godot, which I hope to use build some more ambitious projects with later. Unfortunately, despite the time I've spent on it, it is still rough enough that I haven't open-sourced it or put any downloads anywhere. I hope to release both the game and the code after a couple more polish passes.

    2 votes