Most READMEs are terrible. The biggest issue many of them make is failing to include one or two simple examples.
this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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Exactly! It's so frustrating. I mainly deal with Eurocode, not computer code but the issue exists there too. It's so vague that there's whole another industry of people trying to decipher and explain what the code means and how it's applied. The lack of examples have really driven people to insanity lol. In structural engineering there's often no easy ways to test if your results are correct or not if you misunderstood the code...
Iβve always been confused by βREADMEβs. I wish the name was more self-explanatory
IFYOUARECONFUSEDYOUSHOULDREADTHISDOCUMENTTHENYOUWILLBELESSCONFUSED.md
ITSALLINSCREAMINGCASEIMSOCONFUSED.md
As a consultant, my superpower is having read all the READMEs that come out for the software I specialize in, and re-reading them each time a customer calls and complains about a specific bug on an old version of the software.
A few hours of trial and error will teach you a dozen things that aren't IN the readme. Like, I get your point, but that time isn't wasted.
Exactly, it's basically just the same instinct as dismantling toys, people have an urge to learn
Those files are a trap to root out us illiterates!
Reminds me of "Weeks of coding can save you from hours of planning."
Lets be honest, READMEs and other documentation often contain more glaring, misdirecting errors than the software itself. I prefer video demos prior to use if at all available.
Even those can be hard to follow sometimes, I prefer obscure threads on generic Linux forums from 8 years ago where available.
Dear god no, I can't hit ctrl+f in a video.
Me who generally reads readmes , am i doing it wrong π°
My favorite is repositories that come with demos - I ain't reading shit I'm just gonna copy a demo that's close enough to what I'm trying to do and change a couple things.
All these Linux nerds know sudo rm -rf but do they know:
RTFM
They are just so boring though.
i only read them if formatted as a chain of memes
I only read them if they are in the form of vintage, classic memes. βO RLY?β owl or better.
Readme's are for amateurs...