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I can only speak for myself, but I just want a keyboard and a screen. I don't need a compiler--it's just got to do with the transcription method, not because I need the write/execute/debug loop. I'd be fine doing a coding interview with just Notepad.exe or vi or whatever. It takes me ~2 seconds to type a line of code, but more like 10 or 15 seconds to handwrite it [0], and my brain's just not used to that kind of latency. It trips me up. Plus, on a whiteboard, the mechanics of "oops I need to insert a line... I guess I'll just write it down here and draw a big arrow... ok now I need to rename this variable, but now the name is really long and I can't fit it... wait, what was I doing?". It just mucks up my process. I don't precisely conceive an entire subroutine before I put fingers to keyboard--my code evolves as I'm writing it. I edit, revise, rethink, and refactor constantly, long before anything's even compiled. Keys and screen facilitate that process a thousand times better than pencil and paper. Handwriting just isn't the best medium for code [1]. [0] And thank god I have a CS education, because if nothing else I at least learned how to write legible braces, brackets, ampersands, and at-signs by hand... [1] OP is obviously a wonderful idea but that's because it's teaching aspects of CS that aren't code. |
I think your use of the term "latency" is a very good way to describe some of the problems around whiteboard coding.