how do you anons start reading a source tree you're unfamiliar with?>inb4. AIno.
>>108972371One byte at a time.
>>108972371assuming no documentation, this is the one case where an IDE is actually useful
>>108972371It depends what you're interested in.In case of a Python code i don't even open the source files and walk away.
>>108972398I guess an IDE would be useful, but I've found out that I end up opening so many buffers it ends up getting unmanageable>>108972444It'd be mostly C with a bit of asm. I'm interested on reading the OpenBSD source tree, but the sheer size of the codebase spooks me.
>>108972473 (me)I'm mostly looking for generic tips so it can be useful for anons other than me
>>108972473the point of the IDE is to help you know what functions are available, where they are located, and what their signatures are in a way that is quickly searchedi'm saying this as a guy that prefers using nothing more than vim for just about everything they develop
>>108972473>It'd be mostly CWell that's easy then. Look at main and start chipping away, grepping for where called functions are defined. Maybe check if there's a _start function if the project really esoteric.>>108972444Trips of truth. A GUI program I use daily is starting to bit rot a bit, so I figured I should patch it. After a few minutes of digging I realized I am not going to find where those motherfuckers hid the entry point.
>>108972371Pro tip: make AI generate a C4 diagram for you
flatten source treesort by sizeread the largest source files firstoptionally grep other files for function signatures that seem importantif it looks like boilerplate bullshit move to the next smaller one
>>108972371https://piechowski.io/post/git-commands-before-reading-code/
>>108972846>a C4 diagrama who now?
>>108972371>inb4. AI>no.Hey guys how do I mount this TV to my wall? And absolutely DO NOT tell me to use power tools.
Thanks for all the tips, anons. I'll get to it now. Really appreciate it>>108973307Not as hard as one may think. A manual drill, a hammer and a set of screwdrivers can take you a long way. Anyhow, I don't want to overrely on a tool I wouldn't know how to start to replicate, not even talking about the likely hallucinations that would make me chase dead ends pointlessly
>>108973289A C4 diagram. Standard architecture design tool.
>>108974466>I don't want to overrely on a tool I wouldn't know how to start to replicateWise anon. Don't let the AI do work you wouldn't know how to do yourself and then make yourself unable to tell if it's doing a good job or scamming you.
>>108974513to play devil's advocate, you rely on tools that are literal magic to you all the time (i.e. everything about the hardware in your 'puter)and i'm saying this as an ardent ai hateri appreciate the sentiment, but that's not the right argument to make
>>108974528Obviously I'm not a full master of everything ever, but I do have some understanding of what the hardware is doing. If it breaks and I go to the repair shop, I have an estimate whether the guy is bullshitting me like a mechanic when a woman drives her car over or if it really is a pricey fix. For AI this doubles, because it always sounds confident. The repair shop guy might stumble and you can gauge his confidence from his non-verbal communications. Doctors also lie confidently that they know your problem and the fix, because they're also trained to reassure you that you're not going to die when they clearly know you are, so I don't trust them either.
>>108974528Sometimes there is no other choice, you either use a computer or nothing at all, an OS or nothing at all, but you can write code without using AI, and thus I choose not to use it as I don't know how it works under the hood. Kind of like the GNU movement, you can't achieve absolute freedom, but you can get as close to it as possible. That's what I meant by my comment. I want to understand my environment as much as possible, and if there's a choice I want to choose whatever follows my ideals best, but of course I am aware I will have to make compromises, AI just isn't one of them
>>108974558i'm talking about things like semiconductor devices, not whether ram is installed backwards
>>108972371You intuitively have an understanding of what you need to focus on first, and then you focus on it. It's project-dependent; nobody can answer this question in perfect generality. I am drunk so take what I say with caution.
>>108972371I'm allergic to other people's code.
>>108974571I don't see how that argues against what I said, mr. devil's advocate. Are you consneeding? If not, I am, idc, you know what I meant in my first post, so have a pleasant night.
