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Web Programming Is Hard

shubharamani.com

11–20 of 165 posts

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#12
post #8

First, she thought implementing a linked list during an interview was hard. Then, she says that web programming is hard. And I'm not saying it's "easy", but talk about blogging yourself into a professional grave?

I never said linked lists were hard. I said that it's not necessary to know how to reverse a linked list from memory -- from scratch. I can look it up and get to it right away.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#13
Working for any primarily software driven company is going to be challenging. Working in an expensed IT department is what most developers do, and the work is pretty pedestrian. This seems to provide the most clear line of delineation in software development.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#14
post #8

First, she thought implementing a linked list during an interview was hard. Then, she says that web programming is hard. And I'm not saying it's "easy", but talk about blogging yourself into a professional grave?

I never said linked lists were hard. I said that it's not necessary to know how to reverse a linked list from memory -- from scratch. I can look it up and get to it right away.

Fair enough. But as someone who's conducted hundreds of developer interviews, I can say it's absolutely a huge red flag for me. Total failure would be a straight no-hire. I see it as something that should be very easily re-derivable. You certainly will encounter harder things that you need to invent (not just re-invent) during the course of any job.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#15

There are frameworks full of very high-level abstractions that can make it a lot easier up front. BUT, that only delays it being hard down the road when the abstraction you got for free has to be replaced. Often that time comes very quickly.

Yup. I've "built a website" with Ruby On Rails but frankly wasn't too impressed with myself afterward. It was a worthwhile exercise because it got me to understand the basics of web development. I'd rather focus on learning the nitty gritty basics.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#17

One common mistake when one tries to tackle the web is to do it all at once. What you need: - get familiar with HTML and css. That is, learn the basics, their purpose and how they interact. - get familiar with some basic JavaScript and how you use it on the browser. - learn one of the prominent web languages for the server-side. Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. I used to recommend PHP as a first language because compared to o…

That said, you need to have a firm grasp of all the basic security concepts before rolling out production code. You need to know how to avoid all the various injections.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#18
post #8

First, she thought implementing a linked list during an interview was hard. Then, she says that web programming is hard. And I'm not saying it's "easy", but talk about blogging yourself into a professional grave?

Talking like that attracts employers who are not idiots, many people want to work with people like that.

Re: Web Programming Is Hard

#19
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never said linked lists were hard. I said that it's not necessary to know how to reverse a linked list from memory -- from scratch. I can look it up and get to it right away.

Fair enough. But as someone who's conducted hundreds of developer interviews, I can say it's absolutely a huge red flag for me. Total failure would be a straight no-hire. I see it as something that should be very easily re-derivable. You certainly will encounter harder things that you need to invent (not just re-invent) during the course of any job.

Well, I guess you'd never hire me then. Which is OK. I can't be anything but honest. Sorry. It's who I am.
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