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When you look at some random project's source code for the first time how do you assess time, quality, and complexity at first glance? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by j4k3@lemmy.world to c/programming@programming.dev

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I'm just generalizing, like if you want to copy some cleaver feature or modify some Python program you came across, what are the red or green flags indicating how well your (or particularly some hobbyist's/your early learning self's) results are likely to turn out?

Also how can you tell when reading into such a project is going to be a major project that is beyond the scope of you ultimate goals. For instance, I wanted to modify Merlin 3d printer firmware for hardware that was not already present in the project, but as an Arduino copy pasta hobbyist, despite my best efforts, that was simply too much for me to tackle at the time because of the complexity of the code base and my limited skills.

How do you learn to spot these situations before diving down the rabbit hole? Or, to put it another way, what advice would you give yourself at this stage of the learning curve?

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[–] Kissaki@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago

The title question is very broad, varied, and difficult. It depends.

For anything that is not a small script or small, obvious and obviously scoped takes, you can't assess at first glance.

So for a project/task/extension like you wrote it's a matter of:

Is there docs or guide specifically for what I want to do/add? If yes, the expectation is it is viable and reasonably doable with low risk.

If there is no guide the assessment is already an exploration and analysis. How is the project structured, is there docs for it or my concerns, where do I expect it as to go and what does it have to touch, what's the risks of issues and unknown difficulties and efforts. The next step would already be prototyping, and then implementing. Both of which can be started with a "let's see" and timebox approach where you remain mindful of when known or invested effort or risk increases and you can stop or rethink.