Long ago, I posted a short note On Proficiency where I noted four things I believed were needed to become proficient at an activity: aptitude, interest, knowledge, and skills. My experience learning software development took a different route than many developers today. I started development in very small teams (1-2 developers). I had actually been… Read More »
In The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read, I introduced the idea that least common denominator code (LCDC) is not a good approach to writing software. One reason for this problem is caused by the knowledge base of your average programmer. Different Programmers Have Different Backgrounds Programming is still a relatively new field. It’s also… Read More »
It’s not a big surprise that most programmers feel that the most important result of writing code is the code itself. Other people might argue that while the code is important, other things are more important: Results of the execution of the code Money made by selling the program Business value realized by running the… Read More »
This is the second entry in the Best Practices Gone Bad series of posts. One principle that a lot of developers have been holding to lately is DRY. In The Pragmatic Programmer, Hunt and Thomas state the DRY principle as: Every piece of knowledge must have a single, unambiguous, authoritative representation within a system. This… Read More »
I’ve recently been reminded of something I used to tell entry level programmers repeatedly: Review the basics. And really I mean all of the basics: data structures basic algorithms basics of algorithm analysis language syntax core CS concepts testing strategies In many programming positions, you can get away with coasting on these things for a… Read More »
Jeff Atwood had an interesting post on regular expressions a few days ago. Most of the article talks passionately about the usefulness of regular expressions, strategies for writing readable regular expressions, and tools to help write and debug regular expressions. Along the way, Jeff points out a comment that usually pops up when the topic… Read More »
I’ve been spending a fair amount of my time the past few years helping hire programmers. I have also spent time training both entry-level and senior programmers. So, Jeff Atwood’s recent blog entry The Years of Experience Myth struck me as particularly interesting. While I agree that the number of years of experience a developer… Read More »
This week, there was an interesting post on Jeff Atwood’s Coding Horror blog. This essay was on Shuffling. Shuffling is an application of random numbers, which is a particular interest of mine. I will write more on that subject in an upcoming essay. One of the comments caught my eye because it echoed a sentiment… Read More »
What is it with programmers who don’t read? Most of the best programmers I know are constantly learning. They seem to have an insatiable curiosity for any topic they are interested in. These programmers are often reading websites, books, and magazines almost constantly to help extend their knowledge and understanding. Others never seem to read… Read More »
C++ Common Knowledge Stephen C. Dewhurst Addison-Wesley, 2005 The subtitle of this book sums it up nicely, Essential Intermediate Programming. If someone has not mastered, or at least understood, the material in this book, he or she is still a junior C++ programmer. Although this material is necessary, it is not sufficient to make someone… Read More »