Do you think you have problems writing software? Think again.

After using TextMate in the last weeks I still miss some Eclipse shortcuts. I want to do a specific task and don’t know an easy way to do it without using the mouse or navigating through the menu to find if such shortcut exists. Then today I read an article (in Portuguese) about a blind programmer. Yes, a blind programmer.

Can you imagine how hard it would be trying to develop a software without seeing it? Well, this guy not only took the challenge but he wrote about how he actually accomplishes that.

First of all, he needs to hear all the code. He uses a speech software with some tweaks to make PHP keywords sound simpler in Portuguese. He also has to be strict about coding standards. A brace in the wrong position and he may get lost. So he not only isolates them in a new line but also comments the context it’s opening or closing.

Indentation is not important for him and in fact it make harder to know where the cursor is. For him reading other people’s code becomes a bigger problem too. But apart from that, he doesn’t complain and goes on writing software without major problems. He teach PHP classes too (and it’s probably being invited to do motivational talks for programmers after that article).

After reading that I gave a second thought about my problems using TextMate. It’s relatively easy to write a new bundle, or even switch the text editor. I can even write a new text editor from scratch if I really feel like it. Writing code is easy. Trust me.