Chapter 1: The Journey of a Programmer

Writing clear and efficient code is often a challenging endeavor. While it may seem like self-praise, my experience as a professional in this field has provided me with insights that I believe can be valuable. My aim has always been to design outstanding algorithms and enhance processing efficiency.

In my lengthy career, I've had my share of programming experiences, starting from my elementary school days. I once found myself in a department of a large corporation, struggling with a malfunctioning program. Although it was not part of the core system, I had the freedom to modify the code as needed. I recall working with a program that spanned approximately 3,000 lines and took an entire day to execute. The project faced numerous setbacks due to errors, leading to prolonged processing times and challenging debugging.

After attempting various adjustments to a process that initially required hours, I realized that my changes were only extending the duration. Faced with numerous constraints that complicated debugging, I decided to overhaul the entire process fundamentally.

Over the course of one week, we carefully analyzed the customer's needs, objectives, and expectations. This thorough understanding allowed us to clarify inputs, outputs, and how the outputs would be utilized in the future.

When I began programming, I was confident that I was on the right track and managed to write about 50 lines of code in just half a day, much to everyone's surprise.

The first video, How Senior Programmers ACTUALLY Write Code, offers a glimpse into the techniques and strategies employed by experienced programmers to write clean and efficient code.

I vaguely remember that my approach involved leveraging Cartesian products to create a table for bulk data import, employing a three-level nested structure to perform the necessary processing comprehensively. Unlike the original code, which executed each task sequentially and resembled a tangled web of spaghetti code, my solution streamlined the process into just two main steps. In the end, the total code length was around 100 lines, including some post-processing, but the core logic remained straightforward.

In terms of efficiency, my process completion time shrank to about 5 minutes, whereas it typically required an entire day.

Despite skepticism from veteran programmers with decades of experience, they often struggled to grasp the logic behind the code without proper explanation. I made it a point to clarify, “This is your goal, and here's how this process achieves it.” My goal was to ensure that I could meet the client's needs in the most efficient manner without unnecessary complexity.

The initial code, crafted carefully by a subcontractor, included numerous comments explaining each step. However, even after thorough examination, I found it difficult to grasp the program's overall purpose. While detailed comments can be helpful, I believe that well-structured, thoughtfully designed code ultimately leads to better understanding of its intent and functionality.

Chapter 2: The Importance of Clarity in Code

The second video, Junior Vs Senior Code - How To Write Better Code, discusses the differences between junior and senior programmers, focusing on how clarity and efficiency can lead to better coding practices.

In conclusion, I believe that clarity in programming is essential. It not only makes the code easier to understand but also facilitates maintenance and future enhancements. A well-crafted program communicates its purpose through its processing steps, allowing others to follow its logic without wading through thousands of lines of convoluted code.

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