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So there is a thing that any programmer will eventually run into where they will want or need to do a thing but have absolutely no idea how to make the code do that thing, or worse have absolutely no idea how code could ever be made to do that thing.
"Convert any input string into the format of the random seed my program's random input requires?! How the heck would you ever do that?"
This task can seem insurmountable because it challenges the limits of your own imagination.
This task can seem insurmountable because it challenges the limits of your own imagination.
If you not only can't imagine the answer but how you would even try to find the answer, it is tragically easy to convince yourself that the answer doesn't exist.
The thing is, though: programming has been around a while. You are probably not the first person who wanted this.
The thing is, though: programming has been around a while. You are probably not the first person who wanted this.
You are not the first person to need to convert an alphanumeric string into a purely numeric one, or into a different format of alphanumeric string.
Someone did this before, and they probably wrote down how they did it.
And you can look at it.
Someone did this before, and they probably wrote down how they did it.
And you can look at it.
By looking at it, not only can you integrate it into your program, you can work out how they arrived at the answer. You can examine how the answer works and why.
This is vitally important to human progress for several reasons.
This is vitally important to human progress for several reasons.
Firstly, it's just plain morale boosting. Knowing that there is a source of knowledge to turn to when your own fails you is... kind of why we have civilization in the first place. The idea that there might BE a solution even if you can't work out what it is can be uplifting.
Secondly, it saves time. Chances are if you're a fairly good programmer you will EVENTUALLY arrive at the answer, but it'd be a big waste of your time when the answer is already out there.
There really is no shame in using a pre-existing solution that can be demonstrated to work
There really is no shame in using a pre-existing solution that can be demonstrated to work
Thirdly, it spurs innovation. You might not have been able to arrive at the original answer, but when you see it and examine how it works, you might have a different perspective to its originator. You might be able to see inefficiencies and flaws it's creator couldn't.
"OH, so THAT'S how you convert these strings. But does it really need two hundred lines to implement? I think you could probably cut this down to a hundred and fifty without losing functionality, and then it just runs lighter."
And here's the secret. This is the TED talk moment.
This is not just true of programming. This applies to ALMOST EVERYTHING DIFFICULT IN YOUR LIFE.
Someone is almost certainly having the same problem as you. And they have either solved it, or are trying to solve it.
This is not just true of programming. This applies to ALMOST EVERYTHING DIFFICULT IN YOUR LIFE.
Someone is almost certainly having the same problem as you. And they have either solved it, or are trying to solve it.
When I first looked at the way the United Kingdom's transgender healthcare worked, I felt immense and terrifying despair. Not only did getting transition medication in a timely fashion seem impossible, it also seemed impossible to even get started on fixing it.
But it will not surprise you to know that I'm not the only person who thinks UK trans healthcare is bad. In fact, there was an activism group set up specifically to tackle that problem.
I didn't have to start an activism group or come up with the idea of it: someone already had.
I didn't have to start an activism group or come up with the idea of it: someone already had.
Someone had done some work before me, and had already made what I needed. But then they'd encountered new problems that needed new ideas and perspectives to solve, and people like me could contribute them.
And that collaborative effort will make it easier for those who follow.
And that collaborative effort will make it easier for those who follow.
The two takeaways I want you to have from this is:
1. The collective knowledge of humanity is out there, and it is there so you can use it.
2. Write down the solutions you found to problems you solve. Someone, somewhere down the line, is going to need it.
1. The collective knowledge of humanity is out there, and it is there so you can use it.
2. Write down the solutions you found to problems you solve. Someone, somewhere down the line, is going to need it.
