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Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

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Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#51

Post by delinka »

abhinai wrote: post #29
delinka wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more that existing projects are in Java, so I have experience in Java, Java works, so why learn something else? Just start the next project in Java and it'll just work.

That would imply that the world moved from Java to Node.js / Go / Python just because they are cool new technologies.

Can't tell if sarcasm ...

And, yes, that's often the reason parts of the world move to other things. Hopefully, someone saw an actual problem with the stack they were using, saw a solution elsewhere and moved. However, anecdotally, I often see people deciding emotionally that the Hip Cool New Thing is The Right Way To Go and that's what they use ... and then discover the warts are bigger, or the problems aren't actually solved, or the only thing different is the vocabulary.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#52

Post by sdrothrock »

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #48
abhinai wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which part?

All 3. Biggest problem in Chinese software is ageism against the old, much less seniority.

Ageism and too much deference to seniority can coexist; for example, a 23-year-old giving in to a 28-year-old who's obviously wrong.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#53

Post by amrx431 »

zed88 wrote: post #41

I can speak of similarities. Both in India and China, programmers are basically 'bred' out of an assembly line like education system. Which means you find programmers with no passion or love of their craft. Which means it's rare to find good natural programmers, which you do in western countries because it's pretty much based on meritocracy rather than degrees.This shows in code quality and how projects are handled.…

> So from my point of view its a cultural problem in both countries where the likes of IIT graduates are preferred over a simpleton with great passion, skill and knowledge of the craft.

Oh yeah and when the genius group of "IITians" dont write good code, the definition of good code is changed. I have literally seen this shit. Highly unreadable C++ code from a bunch of IITians went through flawlessly and got merged. The code written had the same readability as the code which you seen in Topcoder or Codechef.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#54

Post by nonamechicken »

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #48
abhinai wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which part?

All 3. Biggest problem in Chinese software is ageism against the old, much less seniority.

Ageism is a huge thing in India too when it comes to hiring, especially in the IT consultancies. Since they want to ahow cheap rates to their customers, they hire a lot of 0-6 year experienced folks. It becomes harder once you cross 10 years.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#55

Post by nonamechicken »

startupdiscuss wrote: post #9

IMHO the big cultural difference between the sub continent and the US is an emphasis on a particular notion of being “practical” over what I would call a particular notion of being “smart.” I assume you are familiar with the particular notion of being smart. You are quick to think of solutions, the solutions are supposed to be novel, you have particular cultural knowledge, detailed opinions and a nerd sense of humor.…

Majority of us in India would also want to work on the latest and fancy tech. But unfortunately, most of us who work in the IT consultancy companies don't have that luxury. Most of the outsourced work are brain dead maintenance projects that are several years old.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#56

Post by fosstrack »

zed88 wrote: post #41

I can speak of similarities. Both in India and China, programmers are basically 'bred' out of an assembly line like education system. Which means you find programmers with no passion or love of their craft. Which means it's rare to find good natural programmers, which you do in western countries because it's pretty much based on meritocracy rather than degrees.This shows in code quality and how projects are handled.…

> Which means it's rare to find good natural programmers, which you do in western countries because it's pretty much based on meritocracy rather than degrees

Not disagreeing. Natural programmers do exist in plenty outside the IITs. They need to be nurtured. The educational system does not help. Not that many companies, in the US too, put that much effort into grooming talented individuals anymore. But when they do, there's payoff.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#57

Post by MichaelMoser123 »

usaphp wrote: post #21
startupdiscuss wrote: post #9

IMHO the big cultural difference between the sub continent and the US is an emphasis on a particular notion of being “practical” over what I would call a particular notion of being “smart.” I assume you are familiar with the particular notion of being smart. You are quick to think of solutions, the solutions are supposed to be novel, you have particular cultural knowledge, detailed opinions and a nerd sense of humor.…

> they’re still using JAVA or PHP because it works. Or probably because that’s what western counties pay for

every contractor does what he gets payed for, hat's not something tied to any specific place or culture.

It might make sense to look at the difference in culture between outsourcing shops and places where they do the whole project in house - rather than to do broad generalizations.

I guess any comparison depends on what you are looking for: when comparing software development culture I would ask about the work environment; are workers likely to help each other out or are they more likely to opt for cut-throat competition between peers? Are people encouraged and willing to share knowledge, or is that something unusual?

But I suspect that's not the way that these questions are approached; these are definitely not traits that we are picked out for during job interviews.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#58

Post by wxyyxc1992 »

rxin wrote: post #38
abhinai wrote: post #32

I'll summarize my experiences. (1) (Too far removed) Engineers in India / China mostly work on projects meant for Western markets. They do not always understand the problems that the project is trying to solve. They rarely get to see it work in the wild. They can't feel proud of creating something they will never see in action. If the project is a huge success, the engineers who created it will almost never be reward…

This is definitely not the case for China.

Maybe true in China

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#59

Post by throwaywaslkdjf »

wxyyxc1992 wrote: post #58
rxin wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is definitely not the case for China.

Maybe true in China

"Maybe true in China" is not an argument. I find comments like these not helpful and disturbing. The amount of blind dislike for other countries without a proper argument makes me read less and less of hacker news.

Re: Ask HN: How is software development different in China and India?

#60

Post by throwaywaslkdjf »

abhinai wrote: post #46
rxin wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is definitely not the case for China.

Which part?

"Most software engineers work for outsourcing companies."

This just isn't true in China. Just go to New Delhi and Beijing and you will find there is a vast different in IT culture in both countries.

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