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How do you read source code of open source programs if you don't know the language its written in ? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Icarus@lemmy.ml to c/programming@lemmy.ml

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this happens a lot, I want to find out how something works but I don't know the said programming language and so I can't read the source code, I've tried looking up stuff in cheatsheets but they don't really help that much and Search Engines are obviously useless for this since they can't search symbols, so how do you read the source code without spending time learning the language ?

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[–] dressupgeekout@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

With practice, you begin to realize that things are more common than they are different. Think about you how you know how to drive most cars, despite learning to drive in only one or two of them at the beginning. I guess it's a "When in Rome..." mindset.

[–] ttmrichter@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

This is a GREAT analogy! Thanks!