this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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Programming

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Algorithms instead of source code !! (lemmy.world)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/programming
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Disclaimer : I am a hobbyist programmer, I have not gone to Uni for that , so I might not know everything I am talking about.

My question is why don't open source programs include something like diagrams of the algorithms they employ ?? I Was looking for algorithms for a chat program with client-server architecture, I was hoping to find diagrams and descriptions of how algorithms work, so a to study them an adapt them to my needs. All I found were FOSS projects with no such documentation.

Considering that reading source code can take a long time, and sometimes interesting projects are written in a language the user isn't familiar with, I was wondering why such documentation style doesn't exist ? It could help even newer contributors get started quicker.

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[–] ericjmorey 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I'm very unclear about what you're asking. Do you have an example of something you've created that includes what you're talking about?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I think they mean like a flow chart or another visual aid to show data changes and information flow through a program. Ive never seen anything like what they are asking for either in documentation, only in code meetings or developer charts.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Exactly what I was referring to. its the type of flow charts you find included in some whitepapers as well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

The problem with stuff like flow charts is that when you do a new feature that changes the chart then there's another chunk of time to update that document. If you're really interested in that all you can really do is make your own as you go through software and you'll see usual patterns how different code areas interact. it's not as useful as figuring it out on your own or studying design paradigms.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

No, I haven't started my project yet. I was looking for docs with descriptions and diagrams about server-client chat algorithms. And I haven't found any, that's why I am asking!