Question

So I know of a few people that actually write their algorithms out in plain English (pseudocode) before coding. I’d never done this before, but now that I think about it, it kind of makes sense for organizing complicated algorithms. Do you do this? Does it help? If not, what do you do (if anything) to organize your program before you write it?

Answer 1

I’ve mentioned it before:

I tend to find myself writing small use cases in notepad using indentation… and after half a dozen lines or so I suddenly realise I’m writing in a style which is essentially Python but with a little less syntax! So I’ve come to the conclusion that Python is actually pseudo code and a fantastic way to prototype your thoughts in whatever language you’re really trying to write in. The best thing about this technique is that you already have a reference you can compare your finished result to in the case of nasty bugs.