I am a computer’s nightmare, but a programmer’s best friend

Question

I am a computer’s nightmare, but a programmer’s best friend.

I am both the cause of a problem and the source of its resolution.

What am I?

@Ben Most programmers would agree that users are not their best friend. — Stevoisiak, Dec 09 '17 at 18:19
The answers listing pros and cons of frameworks and IDE's really don't belong here - the same can be done with any framework or IDE, and it's mostly an inside joke for the people who are familiar with it (note that I said "joke", not "answer"). — NotThatGuy, Dec 10 '17 at 19:59

Reinis Mazeiks · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-08T02:18:41.267

122

How about

Stack Overflow (the error and stackoverflow.com at the same time).

I am a computer’s nightmare,

If I was a computer, I wouldn't like these errors at all. Too much data to keep track of.

but a programmer’s best friend

stackoverflow.com is one of the best places to go to if you get stuck while programming, according to this

I am both the cause of a problem

If you get a stack overflow error, you have a problem. There is not much you can do once this error happens.

and the source of its resolution.

You might be able to find help on stackoverflow.com, for example here.

edited Dec 08 '17 at 02:18

answered Dec 08 '17 at 00:12

Reinis Mazeiks

3,012
1
17
30

2

This answer can be the cause of a problem in more ways that one! – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Dec 08 '17 at 03:27
46

...and thus was born S.O.'s first advertising campaign. :-) – ashleedawg Dec 08 '17 at 05:04
7

How did they make Stack Overflow without Stack Overflow!?? – Grant Davis Dec 08 '17 at 12:42
3

@GrantDavis, related joke: https://twitter.com/jakevdp/status/625349748292071424 – Fabio says Reinstate Monica Dec 08 '17 at 13:55
The real puzzler is: How come R.M only has 396 in reputation if his/her only post got accepted and upvoted 58 times? – ibrahim mahrir Dec 09 '17 at 17:56
1

@ibrahimmahrir I think there is a daily maximum for the reputation one can earn? I'm not sure, I'm new to the site. – Reinis Mazeiks Dec 09 '17 at 18:54
3

"You can earn a maximum of 200 reputation per day" – Reinis Mazeiks Dec 09 '17 at 19:01
1

The word you're looking for here is an "Exception". – insidesin Dec 11 '17 at 05:37
I managed to click every single link hidden on those spoiler tags by accident. Now I hate likns hidden in spoiler tags. – T. Sar Dec 11 '17 at 13:07

score 92 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 16:04

92

Coffee (or soda)

I am a computer’s nightmare,

Ruins a computer if spilled on it

but a programmer’s best friend.

Programmers love coffee to keep themselves going

I am both the cause of a problem and the source of its resolution.

Coffee causes a problem by fueling overwork, leading to fatigue - which is solved with more coffee

edited Dec 08 '17 at 16:04

Beastly Gerbil

58,036
8
166
314

answered Dec 08 '17 at 03:30

brichins

939
5
8

That’s a really creative solution I hadn’t thought of! – Stevoisiak Dec 08 '17 at 05:24
2

Much wisdom and truth this answer holds... Love this puzzle (+1) and this answer (+1)... and the correct one (+1) was important too I guess. – Brent Hackers Dec 08 '17 at 07:43
3

Very first thing that came into my mind when I read the title, too (even before reading the actual question). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 08 '17 at 22:18
Somewhat inspired by the wisdom of Homer Simpson :) – brichins Dec 12 '17 at 21:51
I think Java works better for most of these answers! – SeanR Dec 13 '17 at 10:48

score 19 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 16:18

19

The answer is

the electron framework.

I am a computer’s nightmare,

Drains major amounts of resources for simple apps.

but a programmer's best friend

Who doesn't like easy GUIs and a single language?

I am both the cause of a problem

Poor UX due to lag.

and the source of its resolution.

Better UX due to ease of development.

edited Dec 08 '17 at 16:18

Glorfindel

28,033
9
96
142

answered Dec 08 '17 at 02:29

jiggunjer

291
1
3

I like this one. – CodeMonkey Dec 13 '17 at 08:30

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 08 '17 at 15:32

16

I think it could be

the brain.

I am a computer’s nightmare,

Computers are incapable of processing information like a human brain - the brain is the one computer that outclasses any other computer.

but a programmer’s best friend.

A brain is a required and useful tool when writing code.

I am both the cause of a problem and the source of its resolution.

Any bug caused by "the brain" will ultimately need to be resolved by the brain as well.

answered Dec 08 '17 at 15:32

JD Reese

341
1
3

9

Unfortunately, a lot of programmers demonstrate that a brain (or, more accurately, programmer usage of the brain to think through a problem) is not essential. – Peter Dec 10 '17 at 00:13
2

I disagree with "computers are incapable of processing information like a human brain - the brain is the one computer that outclasses any other computer." I don't even see how people can feel that way tbh. – minseong Dec 10 '17 at 17:44

score 9 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 15:49

9

Visual Studio

I am a computer’s nightmare,

Because it takes a ton of time to compile even simple programs

but a programmer’s best friend.

It does make finding and checking errors easier

I am both the cause of a problem and the source of its resolution.

Sometimes gives idiotic errors; solution is not to use it

edited Dec 08 '17 at 15:49

Peregrine Rook

4,880
2
26
40

answered Dec 08 '17 at 05:39

user43146

91
1

"it takes a ton of time to compile even simple programs" - surely that just refers to the part of "loading solutions". If not, I think you misspelled MSVC :) – sehe Dec 08 '17 at 07:52
I was thinking Java, because it's generally known to be a resource hog (and its relationship with a computer can easily be anthropomorphized as a physically and emotionally abusive partner that spends your money and beats you every now and then), but because of its popularity it statistically employs most programmers so that's probably a thing to be happy about. – Chavez Dec 08 '17 at 12:14

score 7 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 11 '17 at 10:11

How about:

The user

I am a computer’s nightmare,

As soon as a computer comes into contact with a user, things start going wrong. The user tries to do something that the programme wasn't designed for, does something the wrong way, ignores instructions, cannot see things, generally breaks everything.

but a programmer's best friend

The user pays your salary...

I am both the cause of a problem

The user does things wrong, changes their mind how they want to do things, doesn't think like a computer

and the source of its resolution.

The user is the most effective bug hunter you can get and either asks for, or by doing things wrong points the way to better, more user-friendly design.

score 6 · Answer 7 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 15:44

I would say it's the;

"Stack Trace"

It's the computer's nightmare

When computers crash (application software, to be specific), they sometimes throw a truckload of textual information on the screen which nobody understands and just hangs (blue screen of death, anyone?). It's the worst thing which would happen while using the computer so it's a nightmare in the user's perspective.

But a programmer's best friend

These "stack trace" information would make sense to the application programmer. It contains a list (It's actually a stack) of instructions which were executed just before the application crashed. (Hence the name "Stack" in Stack Trace)

It's the cause of the problem

Showing this Stack Trace is actually the problem as well because, ideally the application should've given a better error message and would've shutdown gracefully or either continue to work on other parts of the application. But unfortunately the programmer wasn't too smart to predict it so there we have it.

And the source of its resolution

Although it's a show stopper, the information shown there is vital for the application programmer to trace to the root cause of the problem. (Hence the part "Trace" in Stack Trace). Because the line numbers and the instructions shown there really is an invaluable source for the programmer to fix the problem.

This and 'Exception' or 'Error catcher' is the true answer.
There are so many bad answers in here... — insidesin, Dec 11 '17 at 05:38

score 3 · Answer 8 · edited Dec 09 '17 at 17:48

The solution is:

Programming errors Reported by the computer

I am a computer’s nightmare,

It's quite Hard to get the exact errors reported out of the computer to the programmer.

but a programmer’s best friend.

A friend in need is a friend indeed!

I am both the cause of a problem and the source of its resolution.

Errors are the cause of the program's incorrectness but once known they help in resolving themselves.

score 3 · Answer 9 · edited Dec 08 '17 at 11:42

3

printf debug statements

Nightmare for the computer?

They're slow, and hence frequently the cause of problems in their own right (commonly known as Heisenbugs, because the act of observing changes the thing being observed).

Programmer's best friend?

They're the quickest and dirtiest debug method, and they're often the most expedient way to figure out what's going wrong.

edited Dec 08 '17 at 11:42

Rand al'Thor

116,845
28
322
627

answered Dec 08 '17 at 11:31

Graham

436
2
5

3

A little tenuous... – smci Dec 08 '17 at 20:45

I am a computer’s nightmare, but a programmer’s best friend

9 Answers9

Linked