Arrogant Assholes of the Code world - Geeks Only Discussion

Post by **_Mercury** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:30 am

So were developing a big program for use with our Network Infrastructure. Too many sites, not enough manpower to program the whole thing so were bringing in contractors to write the damn thing.

I suggested Ruby because in my estimation we get more for or our money. The other guys suggested traditional platforms such as PHP and MySQL. Don;t get me wrong, PHP is a powerful set of tools but Ruby has massive time and energy savings. Dev environments are turnkey to a point and coders are efficient and (heres my arrogant asshole coming out) generally more cultured and business savvy than traditional coders.

So heres my finger to the assholes who think they know what efficient, flexible and extendable code looks like.

Post by **_Scottie** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:57 am

What is it about programmers and the terror of changing what they know??

I used to be in this camp, but now I'm all for the quickest RTM. If I can get a toolset that can produce code faster than something else, GO FOR IT!!

Of course, I'm also for keeping myself marketable. I'd LIKE to stay in the .Net world if at all possible, since that is where my strengths lie. A specialist in .Net is worth more than a jack of all trades who knows .Net.

Post by **_Mercury** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:11 am

Scottie wrote:Of course, I'm also for keeping myself marketable. I'd LIKE to stay in the .Net world if at all possible, since that is where my strengths lie. A specialist in .Net is worth more than a jack of all trades who knows .Net.

I disagree. Its those who know the neighborhood of many languages and do not focus on one specific platform (cough...dotNet....Java) that have a higher potential of upward mobility in the job market.

Theres a benefit to transcending out of "code monkey" and into Developer, where the money and excitement lie.

Post by **_asbestosman** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:51 am

I like Python for prototypes or something quick although ruby would probably be better if I actually knew it. However, for RTM stuff, I'm not as picky on the langauge for coding (coding is the easy part). What I worry about most in production code is testability and maintainability. I find Java and C# to be easy to read and easy to maintain so long as good design patterns are followed. I think python is less easy to read or maintain, but it's not as cryptic as perl. I find a good testing framework to be much more important than the language.

Post by **_Boaz & Lidia** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:29 am

Cold Fusion?

Post by **_Dr. Shades** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:56 pm

I think the "if. . . then" command is a very powerful one.

Post by **_Mercury** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:58 pm

Boaz & Lidia wrote:Cold Fusion?

LOL

_Yoda · Post by **_Yoda** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:19 pm

Mercury wrote:
Scottie wrote:Of course, I'm also for keeping myself marketable. I'd LIKE to stay in the .Net world if at all possible, since that is where my strengths lie. A specialist in .Net is worth more than a jack of all trades who knows .Net.

I disagree. Its those who know the neighborhood of many languages and do not focus on one specific platform (cough...dotNet....Java) that have a higher potential of upward mobility in the job market.

Theres a benefit to transcending out of "code monkey" and into Developer, where the money and excitement lie.

I agree. I think that the problem is, most programmers who are "wet behind the ears", fresh out of school do not have a business background. They don't have the benefit of having worked with a company from the business side, and thinking outside the box regarding the productivity and marketing goals for the business.

You have to be able to do that in order to decide which programs are going to be the most efficient. This is something I'm reminding my students of CONSTANTLY. News flash---YOU ARE NOT GOD! The CEO who pays your salary may be completely ignorant when it comes to what you can and can't do, but guess what? He/she is the one who signs your checks and can fire your ass in a heartbeat.

Post by **_Mercury** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:59 pm

liz3564 wrote:[
I agree. I think that the problem is, most programmers who are "wet behind the ears", fresh out of school do not have a business background.

Exactly. Add to that an aire of contempt for stepping outside the box and you have a recipe for false complacency.

_Yoda · Post by **_Yoda** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:51 pm

Mercury wrote:
liz3564 wrote:[
I agree. I think that the problem is, most programmers who are "wet behind the ears", fresh out of school do not have a business background.

Exactly. Add to that an aire of contempt for stepping outside the box and you have a recipe for false complacency.

What do you think could be a resolution to this gap?