Posted by Jerry Stuckle on 09/26/07 13:00

Steve wrote:
> "Jerry Stuckle" <jstucklex@attglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:f5ydnaUMj6ZVW2TbnZ2dnUVZ_ramnZ2d@comcast.com...
>> Sanders Kaufman wrote:
>>> "Jerry Stuckle" <jstucklex@attglobal.net> wrote in message
>>> news:D-SdnZF9tYjEf2XbnZ2dnUVZ_j6dnZ2d@comcast.com...
>>>
>>>> Plus I don't use things like code completion anyway. It gets in the way
>>>> of my typing - I'm often not looking at the screen when I type.
>>> I *started* to have that problem in a serious way.
>>> But after becoming familiar with the enviornment, code-completion
>>> actually meant FEWER keystrokes to write my code.
>>>
>>> For example, when you type "mysql_" it pops up with a bunch of choices.
>>> If you're not expecting it, escaping out of it and typing what you
>>> started to type is frustrating as hell.
>>>
>>> But once you get used to the code-completion popup, you can finish the
>>> command with a couple of down arrows and a tab, instead of having to type
>>> out the whole command.
>>> And if you're subject to making spelling mistakes, as most mortals are,
>>> then doing it that way means you never misspell a command.
>>>
>> I'm a touch typist - and as I said above, I'm often not looking at the
>> screen when I'm typing. And I can finish the function name by typing it
>> in much faster than I can look at the screen, hit a couple of down arrows
>> and a tab.
>>
>> Sure, I occasionally misspell a command. But I'm still faster typing it
>> out than with some code completion.
>>
>> Don't get me wrong - it's great for the "poke and hope" typists. But when
>> you're moving along at > 80 wpm, it's a tremendous slowdown.
>
> i don't find it so. i type at around 85 wpm (right at 125 if not by
> dictation). you've seen my spelling, so you know my actual finger speed has
> to be significantly faster to maintain that average. anyway, if i'm
> accessing a function or other lookup target, i usually only have to type 2
> characters plus ctrl+j (for instance). i know the functions so that even if
> there are more than one, i know from use, how many times to down-arrow
> (which is normally just once if any). so, if a function name is 8 characters
> long (like ob_start), i only have to type a total of 5. spread that out over
> a thousand lines of code per day and it really adds up. all of this i can do
> heads-down.
>
> sounds like that's just me though.
>
>

That's good for you, Steve. But still find it slows me down. It's much
easier for me to type mysql_query than it is to write my-down arrow-down
arrow-down arrow-tab. I don't need to move my fingers from the main
part of the keyboard and (quite often) put them back in the wrong place.

But to each their own. I don't have anything against them. I just
don't find them helpful.

--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
==================

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