Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Coding blind (self.Blind)
submitted by Vaelian
I was a coder before going blind and would like to code again, but this time for fun and entertainment only, since I doubt I would ever be efficient enough to land a job doing it blind.
I would like to write an LLVM compiler front-end for a language inspired in Swift, C++, and Python, a daunting task even for sighted people, but one of the few things that I can still write without assistance since it doesn't have anything graphical. I doubt I'll ever produce anything useful blind, this is just to keep me entertained.
I'm on OS X, and the only version of Windows that I have is Windows 7, which I can't install by myself since there is no screen-reader in the setup process, so I'm limited to the IDEs and editors available for Mac.
What I would like to know is:
* What editor or IDE do you recommend for C++? Ideally it should work with clang and lldb if it's an IDE.
* How do you deal with large source files since you can't quickly identify where code blocks begin and end visually?
I'm willing to switch to Windows 10 if needed, but I would like to avoid that since I'm not used to its keybinds.
I would like to write an LLVM compiler front-end for a language inspired in Swift, C++, and Python, a daunting task even for sighted people, but one of the few things that I can still write without assistance since it doesn't have anything graphical. I doubt I'll ever produce anything useful blind, this is just to keep me entertained.
I'm on OS X, and the only version of Windows that I have is Windows 7, which I can't install by myself since there is no screen-reader in the setup process, so I'm limited to the IDEs and editors available for Mac.
What I would like to know is:
* What editor or IDE do you recommend for C++? Ideally it should work with clang and lldb if it's an IDE.
* How do you deal with large source files since you can't quickly identify where code blocks begin and end visually?
I'm willing to switch to Windows 10 if needed, but I would like to avoid that since I'm not used to its keybinds.
Nighthawk321 3 points 7y ago
Please, if you think that you won't be able to land a job as a programmer, your mistaken. I know several outstanding programmers personally that work for reputable companies.
As far as the code blocks, I usually do the follow:
{ //while open
code
} //while close
or
{ //if open
code
} //if close
I guess it's a little clunky, but it gets the job done.
As far as the code blocks, I usually do the follow:
{ //while open
code
} //while close
or
{ //if open
code
} //if close
I guess it's a little clunky, but it gets the job done.
LegendOfBobbyTables 1 points 7y ago
That is such a simple and elegant solution that I'm honestly embarrassed I never thought to do that myself. It is a little clunky, but the entire point of comments is to increase readability and this certainly does so. Thanks for the idea.
gelema5 2 points 7y ago
I'm sighted and still new to programming as a student, so I'm probably not the best person to answer your question, but I've used Eclipse and Netbeans IDEs, and Sublime Text and Notepad++ for text editors. All of these options are free.
Here's some other things I uncovered:
* $1 might be useful.
* $1 which could have some more useful info! Warning, it's long.
* $1 which may or may not be applicable.
Edit: adding more reading
Here's some other things I uncovered:
* $1 might be useful.
* $1 which could have some more useful info! Warning, it's long.
* $1 which may or may not be applicable.
Edit: adding more reading
Vaelian [OP] 1 points 7y ago
Thanks for the reply! I've tried the IDEs and editors that you mentioned but they all had issues:
* I've tried Eclipse which proceeded to complain about the missing legacy Java SE 6, which I installed and then it proceeded to complain about the version of the installed JVM but without telling anything about the appropriate version, so I couldn't use it;
* I've tried NetBeans but didn't find it accessible as I couldn't even find a way to write code after adding a file to the project;
* SublimeText is inaccessible according to many posts that I've read around, including that Tools of a Blind Programmer post that you mentioned , so I didn't even try it;
* Notepad++ is a Windows-only IDE, and I'm on OS X. I've considered switching to Windows, but for Visual Studio, which is accessible according to the reviews that I've read around.
I've also tried:
* Xcode - Is accessible for the most part but is a pain to navigate and error messages don't display line numbers;
* TextMate 1.x - Is inaccessible as buttons aren't even labeled and I couldn't even find a way to finish creating a project;
* TextMate 2.x - Is the most accessible of all the IDEs and editors that I've tried but I couldn't find a way to save to my home directory as it only lists the most common directories;
* nano in the console - Is accessible but the console has its own issues and nano doesn't have a quick way to jump to a given line;
* vim in the console - It's confusing since I can never tell whether I'm in insert, visual, command mode or in its command line, plus the console has its own issues.
* I've tried Eclipse which proceeded to complain about the missing legacy Java SE 6, which I installed and then it proceeded to complain about the version of the installed JVM but without telling anything about the appropriate version, so I couldn't use it;
* I've tried NetBeans but didn't find it accessible as I couldn't even find a way to write code after adding a file to the project;
* SublimeText is inaccessible according to many posts that I've read around, including that Tools of a Blind Programmer post that you mentioned , so I didn't even try it;
* Notepad++ is a Windows-only IDE, and I'm on OS X. I've considered switching to Windows, but for Visual Studio, which is accessible according to the reviews that I've read around.
I've also tried:
* Xcode - Is accessible for the most part but is a pain to navigate and error messages don't display line numbers;
* TextMate 1.x - Is inaccessible as buttons aren't even labeled and I couldn't even find a way to finish creating a project;
* TextMate 2.x - Is the most accessible of all the IDEs and editors that I've tried but I couldn't find a way to save to my home directory as it only lists the most common directories;
* nano in the console - Is accessible but the console has its own issues and nano doesn't have a quick way to jump to a given line;
* vim in the console - It's confusing since I can never tell whether I'm in insert, visual, command mode or in its command line, plus the console has its own issues.
ColonelMiltonBlows 1 points 7y ago
Yeah, terminal with VoiceOver is pretty terrible. I'd definitely recommend at least setting up a Windows VM to try out; I get that OS X is superior from a technical standpoint but in terms of productivity and actually getting stuff done Windows screen readers are much more efficient IMHO.
ColonelMiltonBlows 1 points 7y ago
I don't do a lot of coding currently as I'm in college and kind of all over the place when it comes to career plans, but I do work with Python, HTML and occasionally C. I think that Stack Overflow topic has a lot of good info and I don't really have anything to add there, but what I will say it that, in my experience, coding with Voiceover is a huge pain, especially if you're using the Alex voice. I'd seriously consider getting Windows set up and using NVDA with a synthesizer like Espeak or Eloquence, as they do a much better job of efficiently conveying information. A VM of some Linux distribution is also an option, though if you end up setting up Windows 10 Microsoft will be releasing an anniversary update next month which includes a Linux subsystem that can run ELF binaries natively; I am pretty excited about this. Hope this is helpful.
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