alt Hacker NewsWhen I started learning Go I went all in including using the recommended editor (acme editor) which has no syntax highlighting, no autocomplete and a very different way of writing code. My production went down a lot but the quality of the code went up a lot.
I think the lack of syntax highlighting was one reason for that. It makes you think more about the code you write and how it should compose, while a fully fledged IDE encourages you to just throw more code at the problem.
I think the ACME way should be used for love of code and ideally when you want to create libraries that stand the test of time. When you just want to get things done fast bring the full IDE and now some LLM vibes and it’s done.
Replies
dolmen • today at 9:41 AM
Are you using the Go fonts?
I go through intervals of turning autocomplete on and off. I think autocomplete is useful for boilerplate (similarly LLMs are useful for boilerplate), but I prefer not to use either when writing code where correctness is particularly important. This is because it’s easier for me to internalize what something is doing by typing it out. It’s actually more effort for me to understand code by reading it rather than writing it.
I experience something similar with system design, where the act of creating a diagram helps me to understand much faster than trying to read someone else’s diagram. It’s not because only I can create good diagrams (I cannot) but again because the act of creating one helps me internalize the design.