The first skill a new programmer must learn is not what most people expect. It is not learning a programming language. It has nothing to do with algorithms or data structures. The first thing a new programmer must learn is how to identify a small piece of a problem. Solving the Big Problems Most problems… Read More »
Between my earlier career in electronics and my current career in software, I have found a number of questions that have been helpful in troubleshooting problems reported by others. None of these questions are original to me. My wife described troubleshooting a hardware problem over the phone and mentions some of her troubleshooting questions. I… 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 »
Back in February, I ran across the post robkinyon on Perl: How useful is a debugger, really? and was again reminded of the great debugging debate. I thought about commenting on it at the time, but I got distracted. Well, Matt Trout reminded me of it again today with his post Simple Debugging. So, I… 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 »
Last week, I wrote about a technique for debugging without using a debugger in Debugging Without a Debugger. I talked a bit about the advantages of instrumenting code and how it can be used to supplement the use of a debugger. Those of you who have always used a debugger might consider this vaguely interesting,… Read More »
I’ve noticed something about the programmers I have dealt with in the last few years. Many of them seem to equate debugging skill with ability to use a debugger. In fact, in some instances, the concept of being able to troubleshoot a problem outside a debugger is so foreign it would never occur to them.… Read More »
Code Reading Diomidis Spinellis Addison-Wesley, 2003 I have had this book on my list of books to read for some time. Although I have been reading code for years, everything I had heard about this book suggested that it would help improve my reading skills. Unfortunately, halfway through the book I was mostly disappointed. This… Read More »
In On Proficiency, I talked a bit about what characteristics make up the concept we call proficiency. In trying to hire programmers, a company often tries to measure proficiency to find the best candidate for the job. Over a year ago, I began thinking about how to measure proficiency, and found it to be harder… Read More »
In order to become proficient at any activity, a person needs four things: aptitude interest knowledge skills To some extent, you should be able to judge a person’s proficiency by measuring each of the four attributes. The first of these is the only one that a person has no control over. If you don’t have… Read More »