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Most viral Computer Programming questions on Quora

Ranked by real engagement we track — views, upvotes, comments and shares per question. Updated continuously.

1.1KQuestions tracked

55.6MTotal views

574KTotal upvotes

7.5MVirality score

1 How difficult is a job as a programmer?

OK, let me prepare you for the real world. You’ve seen the videos on YouTube. You know, the “day in the life of a software engineer” videos. The average comp…

🔥 314K 👁 3M ⬆ 3.6K 💬 232 🔄 35 · Anonymous on Quora

2 What is the strangest sorting algorithm?

Heapsort is a standard algorithm, but it’s actually pretty weird when you think about it:Swap some of the elements of the array around into a seemingly sense…

🔥 208.6K 👁 1.4M ⬆ 20.9K 💬 330 🔄 104 · Anonymous on Quora

3 How do programmers know what to code before they write any code?

Let me let you in on a secret. It's not a very well-kept secret, but it must be a secret, because not very many programmers say what I'm about to say in the…

🔥 206.4K 👁 1.9M ⬆ 4.8K 💬 0 🔄 76 · Anonymous on Quora

4 Why do software developers love to use MacBook Pro for development if they prefer a Unix-based OS and love the terminal? Why don’t they just install Linux on a cheaper laptop?

Recognize this guy?Linus Torvalds, the man who created Linux itself, reported himself using an 11″ Macbook Air His words being : “I have to admit being a bit…

🔥 133.8K 👁 1.2M ⬆ 4.2K 💬 7 🔄 40 · Anonymous on Quora

5 Is my Python code idiotic or good?

Good effort. I like the map of command approach a lot. It’s nice to see the interpreter wrapped up inside an object, as that makes a very natural housing. It…

🔥 131.2K 👁 1.3M ⬆ 319 💬 0 🔄 9 · Anonymous on Quora

6 If a programming language is also written in a programming language, how was the first programming language written?

A lot of answers here already, but I will nevertheless add in with my war story. My first computer was the legendary Commodore 64:…at that time pretty much a…

🔥 126K 👁 925.1K ⬆ 9.3K 💬 314 🔄 99 · Anonymous on Quora

7 If Python is slow compared to other languages, then why are we still using it?

This is the fastest car in the world:The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport -- 267.81 mph (431.072 kph).This is the bestselling car in the world:The Toyota Corolla —…

🔥 124.4K 👁 643.3K ⬆ 19.4K 💬 0 🔄 70 · Anonymous on Quora

8 What do you like about coding?

It’s the flow, man. It’s like you sit down at 9, and suddenly you notice that your neck hurts, and your eyes are sore, and you blink and stretch, and look at…

🔥 108.4K 👁 540.7K ⬆ 17.8K 💬 0 🔄 38 · Anonymous on Quora

9 I have created an algorithm faster than binary search. How can I use this for my benefit?

Well, you could:Publish this. If true (doubtful), you would become famous and likely end up as a professor of CS someplace cushy. If false, you might look a…

🔥 106.7K 👁 975.4K ⬆ 3K 💬 0 🔄 7 · Anonymous on Quora

10 What's the best code you've seen a professional programmer write? How does it compare to the average programmer?

Professional programmer’s code://Here we address strange issue that was seen on //production a few times, but is not reproduced //localy. User can be myster…

🔥 91.8K 👁 478.9K ⬆ 13.5K 💬 0 🔄 135 · Anonymous on Quora

11 What are the signs that show you won't succeed as a programmer?

Stupid question. Sorry. Ill phrased question perhaps. Why? Simple, because at the end of the day, programming is nothing but a ‘language’ that is like a ‘too…

🔥 88.2K 👁 446.3K ⬆ 13.9K 💬 116 🔄 28 · Anonymous on Quora

12 How do I become an expert level programmer in a week?

Day 1: Intro. Read The Art of Computer Programming. Make sure to do all the exercises. (If you’re slow or crunched for time just do volumes 1–3.) Day 2: C++.…

🔥 81K 👁 483.6K ⬆ 9.2K 💬 325 🔄 70 · Anonymous on Quora

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13 Why is C++ not used in web development?

14 What makes Taylor Swift so unique?

15 Why is PHP so complex?

16 Do programmers prefer coding at night? Why?

17 Is it possible to become a good programmer in a few weeks if you have no prior experience?

18 Are there programmers who write virtually bug-free code?

19 What are the programming mistakes most inexperienced programmers make?

20 What are some of the most basic things every programmer should know?

21 Will Golang replace Java?

22 Why is it hard to understand pointers in programming?

23 Whose idea was it to create the Ctrl+Alt+Delete shortcut? Why was it not considered a design flaw?

24 Why is Java considered a hard programming language?

25 Will Rust replace C++?

26 What does the code for a video game look like?

27 Who is the best programmer of our time?

28 What is the biggest myth about computer programming?

29 What programming language do Russians use?

30 Why is C the best programming language?

31 Bill Gates said, “Only a small percentage of the population has the mental abilities to do higher level programming.” What’s the “higher level programming” he was talking about?

32 Is it true that C can go as low-level as assembly by using pointers to directly access memory mapped hardware?

33 Why do people think Python is easy?

34 Who are some millionaires who still write computer code?

35 Why is C++ so complicated and Java so simple?

36 What is the scariest code you have ever seen?

37 Did you know that C++ is statistically almost twice slower than C because it needs additional code to handle exceptions, dynamic pointers and classes?

38 My C++ teacher, who seems crazy old school, won't let us use the string datatype in C++, but instead makes us use the character array datatype from C. He says the strings in C++ are "just not good". Is there any truth to what he is saying?

39 Is C++ fast?

40 Why do programmers love ultra-wide monitors instead of 16:9?

41 Is it possible to write large and complex C programs without using malloc()?

42 How did Peter Norton or Bill Gates write programming code in the 60s, without access to the Internet's coding forums? Were they geniuses?

43 What are the five most important programming concepts?

44 Why do some programmers think Python is for noobs?

45 What skills do self-taught programmers commonly lack? What should a self-taught programmer study to get up to speed with his/her formally-educated peers?

46 How can I learn Java fast?

47 Why does the computer understand only ones and zeros?

48 In which cases would you prefer Python over languages such as Java and C++ and why?

49 Is there a programmer/coder who would like to work on an idea with me?

50 Why can't an OS be written in pure C or C++? Why are some certain parts of every OS written in assembly?

51 What is the most magical and mesmerizing code you have ever seen?

52 Who is the most talented computer coder in history and why?

53 How strong of a programming language is Python? How does it compare to C++ and C for large scale software development?

54 Now that anyone can learn to code, will it become less lucrative?

55 How many lines of code was Pong?

56 Why was Python written in C instead of C++?

57 Is Java losing its popularity? If yes, why?

58 What is some badly-written code you wrote when you were beginning to learn programming?

59 Why do developers like Linux so much?

60 Why do so many young freelancers want to use unreliable languages like Python instead of good ones like C# or Java?

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