Stack Overflow is an amazing resource for computer programmers. I've asked a lot of questions there, and answered a lot of questions there, and I've found the answers to lots and lots of questions that someone else has already asked. Participating in Stack Overflow has been great.
However, there have been a few cases where I've asked a question in this form:
I need some code that will [...]. Can someone point me to some existing code that does this?
And then I have received responses and comments like these:
We aren't here to do your homework for you.
You can't expect help without doing a little bit of work on your own.
You mean "Plez sir send me the codez?"
I don't understand why my questions provoke these responses. It is possible that I am asking the question in a way that the readers interpret as demanding or rude. But I also wonder if some people think that looking for existing code to solve a problem is a dishonorable thing to do, and Real Programmers write everything they need from scratch.
What if I had asked this:
I am new to C. I need to format some printed output in my C program. What's the easiest way to do this?
I hope someone would respond with
There is a standard function called "printf()" that will do what you want.
and not
Why can't you just figure out how to write your own formatting function It's the best way to learn C. Or are you just too lazy to spend time learning things?
Appropriate reuse of already written and debugged code is the mark of a professional, and time spent in research of existing implementations of algorithms you need is time well invested. If you want to write the millionth from-scratch implementation of Quicksort in your favorite programming language, go right ahead, but those of us who have real work to do are going to look for a library or a code snippet.