if not, why? how do you validate your achievements?
Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
1–10 of 37 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#2> For identifying strengths and weaknesses: "Programmer Competency Matrix":
> - http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/
> - https://competency-checklist.appspot.com/
> - https://github.com/hltbra/programmer-competency-checklist
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#3> For identifying strengths and weaknesses: "Programmer Competency Matrix": > - http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/ > - https://competency-checklist.appspot.com/ > - https://github.com/hltbra/programmer-competency-checklist
Don’t read too much into that. TDD for example is not leveling up it’s an opinionated approach to development.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#4[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#5Nah, but I get by.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#6Comparing yourself to people on the internet is pointless so I'll skip that. I've been working for about 5 years and out of the technical people I've worked with I'd say I'm a better programmer than exactly one.
At times it's because of laziness (didn't read up on X), at other times due to temperament (I refuse to hold on to easily googl-able information), but frequently it's because of limited working memory or lesser ability for abstract thought.
I'm aware of impostor syndrome but I'm not sure this is a case of it.
This isn't stopping me from contributing on every team I'm a part of, getting consistently good feedback, getting interviews however. I feel in general, as you can get most things done given enough or even close to too much time, then you are generally valuable.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#7> For identifying strengths and weaknesses: "Programmer Competency Matrix": > - http://sijinjoseph.com/programmer-competency-matrix/ > - https://competency-checklist.appspot.com/ > - https://github.com/hltbra/programmer-competency-checklist
Don’t read too much into that. TDD for example is not leveling up it’s an opinionated approach to development.
Automated testing is not a choice in many industries.
If you're not familiar with TDD, you haven't yet achieved that level of mastery.
There's a productivity boost to being able to change quickly without breaking things.
Is all unit/functional/integration testing and continuous integrating TDD? Is it still TDD if you write the tests after you write the function (and before you commit/merge)?
I think this competency matrix is a helpful resource. And I think that learning TDD is an important thing for a good programmer.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don’t read too much into that. TDD for example is not leveling up it’s an opinionated approach to development.
Automated testing is not a choice in many industries. If you're not familiar with TDD, you haven't yet achieved that level of mastery. There's a productivity boost to being able to change quickly without breaking things. Is all unit/functional/integration testing and continuous integrating TDD? Is it still TDD if you write the tests after you write the function (and before you commit/merge)? I think this competency m…
There is absolutely no need to follow TDD to be good at testing.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don’t read too much into that. TDD for example is not leveling up it’s an opinionated approach to development.
Automated testing is not a choice in many industries. If you're not familiar with TDD, you haven't yet achieved that level of mastery. There's a productivity boost to being able to change quickly without breaking things. Is all unit/functional/integration testing and continuous integrating TDD? Is it still TDD if you write the tests after you write the function (and before you commit/merge)? I think this competency m…
> Is all unit/functional/integration testing and continuous integrating TDD?
No. They differentiate in the matrix.
> If you're not familiar with TDD, you haven't yet achieved that level of mastery.
That's not true - I've worked on teams with far lower defect rates than the typical TDD team.
TDD can help keep a developer focused - and this can help overall productivity rates - but it doesn't directly help lower defect rates.
Re: Ask HN: Do you consider yourself to be a good programmer?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Automated testing is not a choice in many industries. If you're not familiar with TDD, you haven't yet achieved that level of mastery. There's a productivity boost to being able to change quickly without breaking things. Is all unit/functional/integration testing and continuous integrating TDD? Is it still TDD if you write the tests after you write the function (and before you commit/merge)? I think this competency m…
There is absolutely no need to follow TDD to be good at testing.
This is all unfounded conjecture: it seems easier to remember which parameter combinations may exist and need to be tested when writing the function; so "let's all write tests later" becomes a black box exercise which is indeed a helpful perspective for review, but isn't the most effective use of resources.