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My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

thecodist.com

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Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#571

Post by johnsonjo »

tragic wrote: post #125
wtbob wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> JavaScript is actually an incredibly flexible and effective language. == vs === No integers. Assignment is declaration. Prototypes. Curly brackets & semicolons. Semicolon insertion. It may be flexible (in the sense that an Alfa Romeo driven into a telephone pole at 120 mph is flexible), but it sure as heck ain't effective. JavaScript is the great shame of the computing industry: that it exists, and that it is used,…

> No integers. Fair enough. > Assignment is declaration. Not exactly. You can declare variables separately, if you want. In fact, a "var x = 42" statement will actually be split into "var x;" at the top of the scope and "x = 42" wherever you actually wrote it by the interpreter. The specified behaviour is a little weird and non-obvious, but once you know it, you know it. > Prototypes. That's a matter of taste (plus t…

I think with the "No integers" part that isn't entirely true JavaScript has typed arrays now. So you could get an array of ints that way. I'm not familiar with them and whether they behave in a similar way as an int in a typed language like Java or C++, but from my reading it seems the integer view behaves (output wise) in much the same way as other typed languages integers.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Type...

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#573

Post by ImTalking »

uptownfunk wrote: post #551
ImTalking wrote: post #544

For me, software has been nothing more than a tool to get myself the lifestyle I want. I enjoy the creativity associated with writing solid software of course but it's not a hobby, it's certainly not a religion for me, it's a tool, nothing more. I enjoy the creativity associated with developing a solution that people use and pay me for, but at the end of the day, I am a business-guy who uses software to get what I wa…

Interesting.. What are some industries unserviced by software today?

Sorry, should have said under-serviced. I looked at an industry which has undergone significant changes over the past few years (although probably all industries match that these days!) and looked at the ISVs and their platforms. The industry changes allowed many more entrants than before and the current ISV platforms are very complicated and pricey platforms which, in my view, would be too costly for these new SME entrants. So, the theory at least, is to create a lower-cost platform.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#574

Post by collyw »

jarsin wrote: post #254

Meh most people in management suffer from imposter syndrome either consciously or unconsciously. Management is meeting + politics aka waste of time + drama. Dev for life!

It gets frustrating when you have to work for basically junior level developers who have managed to get a management position, and they think they can code.

"Just do it this way"

The word 'just' always signaled that it hadn't been thought through.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#575

Post by johnsonjo »

colllectorof wrote: post #519
forgottenacc56 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

JavaScript is actually an incredibly flexible and effective language.

> JavaScript is actually an incredibly flexible and effective language. My problem with people who say such things is that they almost always have been saying the same thing for many years, while the language itself did several 180° turns and backflips. "Classes are stupid, we don't need them!" "Look, we have fake classes in ES6!" "Asynchronous code is awesome!" "Asynchronous code is horrible!" "Prototype mutation is…

I feel the contradictions in JavaScript and it's community is actually a reflection of the background of any one who uses JavaScript coming from other languages. Those people bring their paradigms to JavaScript. I like that about it. Though I know many other languages JavaScript is my favorite language and I use it at work. It's the first language that I took a deep dive into programming with.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#576

Post by tudorw »

didibus wrote: post #562
ImTalking wrote: post #544

For me, software has been nothing more than a tool to get myself the lifestyle I want. I enjoy the creativity associated with writing solid software of course but it's not a hobby, it's certainly not a religion for me, it's a tool, nothing more. I enjoy the creativity associated with developing a solution that people use and pay me for, but at the end of the day, I am a business-guy who uses software to get what I wa…

I agree with you whole heartedly. A lot of programmers are artists. Like artists, they work not for profit, but expression and self fulfilment through their craft. Some people are not artists, they are utilitarians. They create not for admiring the work, but for fullfilling menial needs, for addressing life's struggles, and for profiting. Utilitarians would have created a business even if programming did not exist. A…

at least artists in other realms get to enjoy some permanence, very little in software get's preserved, more so now, but still, I don't expect anyone to be putting my stuff in a gallery any time soon...

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#577

Post by davidhyde »

This post makes me sad. Where we should be encouraging others to join this field, this does the opposite. These are the golden years of computing where we mere humans can still make worthy software (before AI writes our software for us). I find it to be a privilege to work in this industry and actually be paid for what I do. Yes I consider writing software to be a form of art and I pity others who don't have the same job as us. I think that the author's career path has more to do with is adversity to risk than the decision not to go into senior management. Leaving apple when it was shaky, leaving startups when there were problems. If I was lucky enough to work for a startup or any business that had a sound business model but was suffering from managerial incompetence I would leave and compete.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#578

Post by luxsy »

didibus wrote: post #560

Sounds like the typical success anxiety everyone suffers from today. You could have been everything, successful, rich, famous, but you chose what you wanted and that's ok, it's for the best, that's true success, don't run after the carrot. Every programmer I meet dream of being CEO, having their own company, making more money. Yet over 90% of them don't enjoy any of their current profit. Literally, with my programmer…

I totally agree with this philosophy, I am also a developer, many times my relatives asked my why I don't start my own company. Your words totally relate why I don't (yet?), I am good being a programmer, I can travel, eat at restaurant, hangout with my friends, I do something I like on a daily basis. I like it that way.

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#579

Post by MarkMc »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #173
dcw303 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still coding after almost 20 years in the job, and have no intention of stopping. I tried some other options - teacher, artist, entrepreneur. None of them give me the thrill that I get from programming. I still get locked into a flow where time shifts, and before I know it hours have passed. The only other activity that does that is Civ, and no-one is going to pay me to play that ;) If 10x assets is what drives y…

I'm in my late forties and have been a professional developer for 25+ years. I agree with what you said in your comment, but this stood out: "You might be dead tomorrow; you might as well enjoy today." This is not a bad way to live, but as I get older I am increasingly aware that there will be a day when I'm dead tomorrow. And for that reason I'm increasingly less interested in spending time in the state where "time…

Thanks for brining this up. 'Flow' seems such a great state when I am in it, but I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out by not trying to create memorable experiences instead...

Re: My Biggest Regret as a Programmer

#580

Post by drewstiff »

tudorw wrote: post #576
didibus wrote: post #562

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you whole heartedly. A lot of programmers are artists. Like artists, they work not for profit, but expression and self fulfilment through their craft. Some people are not artists, they are utilitarians. They create not for admiring the work, but for fullfilling menial needs, for addressing life's struggles, and for profiting. Utilitarians would have created a business even if programming did not exist. A…

at least artists in other realms get to enjoy some permanence, very little in software get's preserved, more so now, but still, I don't expect anyone to be putting my stuff in a gallery any time soon...

One could argue that the impermanence makes it even more of an art form as the work of art only exists for a brief moment in the grand scheme of things, and so the artist must be one true to the art as they could not be working for the everlasting glory of fame...

...Or that could be taking the analogy a bit too far.

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