Re: On Complex Source Code Reading Strategy

On Tue, Jul 25, 2017 at 11:54 PM, Zeray Kalayu <tiggreen87(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> I want to be PG hacker but it seems a complex beast to find my way out in it.
> So, can anyone suggest me from his experience/style the general
> approaches/techniques/strategies on how to read complex source code in
> general and PG in particular effectively.

I can only think of two things:

1. Get familiar with how cscope or a similar tool works. Figure out
how to make it integrate well with your text editor.

2. Start somewhere. I have no idea where that should be, but it has to
be some particular place that seems interesting to you.

The trick, if there is one, is to find what you read in some way
relevant, interesting, or useful, in the short term, so that a
virtuous circle starts. I don't think that there's a right place to
begin. If you find a way to learn that is sustainable, then you can
eventually have a good understanding of the system as a whole.

--
Peter Geoghegan