It's an interesting discussion.

Developing an application is applying techniques but by nature, you don't really build the same application many times such that you can come up with rules that the daily grunt applies without thought.

What is the software equivalent of spacing studs interspersed with fireblocks that we're not doing?

In software, easily repeated steps and proper practices are moved to the runtime/language/compiler etc.

Is it too conceited to argue that each application is more unique than each housing structure? I'm not sure. But we do actually have many many practices in place that are automatically handled.

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wavemode a day ago | parent | next [-]

> Is it too conceited to argue that each application is more unique than each housing structure?

I would say the exact opposite, actually. Two random software applications designed for the same purpose are likely much more similar to each other than two random buildings that were built for the same purpose.

This is because, for practical reasons, the software applications are likely just going to be slight variations of the same base. Unless your application is extremely intricate, most of the complexity (and most of the code that's executing) is actually in the kernel and the libraries. You're mostly just reusing those shared components and arranging them in a slightly different way.

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HeyLaughingBoy 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> What is the software equivalent of spacing studs interspersed with fireblocks that we're not doing?

You're comparing apples to hockey pucks. For the analogy to hold, you need to specify what industry the software is for. i.e., if I'm building a garden shed, I don't need a specific stud spacing or even fireblocks at all. Hell, I can build it from raw timber if I have enough of it.

	▲	jayd16 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		That doesn't really sound like an invalid analogy, you just don't need the same fire code for all structures but there are still fire codes that apply to building sheds. I'm not sure what your point is. Like, ok, you came up with a structure that doesn't need a lot of structural engineering but clearly others do. So what are you trying to say?

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RHSeeger 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> What is the software equivalent of spacing studs interspersed with fireblocks that we're not doing? > > In software, easily repeated steps and proper practices are moved to the runtime/language/compiler etc.

At least in my opinion, that doesn't make them _not_ the equivalent of spacing studs interspersed with fireblocks, etc. It just makes it automatic... the same way that contractors buy materials that have certain things build into them (weather resistant, fire retardant, etc).

Just like it's entirely possible to build software without using common libraries (roll your own, etc); one can do the same with buildings. The only difference is the official rules requiring they way things are done.