Software engineering topics I changed my mind on • Hacker News Board

Re: Software engineering topics I changed my mind on

#701

Post by hycaria » Sat, Jan 30, 2021, 2:08 PM UTC

bena wrote: post #631

hycaria wrote: post #623

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a veterinarian and recruiting is way more straightforward. You’re not going to test the person on the spot. It’s way more about personality fit, what you like/dislike to do, and where you see yourself a few years later down the road. And then a real paid tryout. Also I just changed jobs and was able to write code quickly because they were recruiting with tasks in mind for me. Sometimes it feels like the position…

Veterinarians have boards and licenses, right? I can't hang a shingle as a vet on a whim. That's a very clear filter. All the vetting of whether or not someone can perform the job is done before they even get to you. However, anyone can call themselves a programmer and apply to programming jobs and there's no way to tell if they're capable or not until they're at it. And even previous job experience isn't a strong si…

Even boards and licences won’t keep one from being a bad recruit. It has the same value as a CS degree I guess most people applying will have, and you’ll still be whiteboarded.

Re: Software engineering topics I changed my mind on

#702

Post by warrenm » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 2:16 PM UTC

windowshopping wrote: post #82

Have never agreed with a blog post more. Every single bullet point, 10/10. Okay, okay, actually I have one qualm~ > Standups are actually useful for keeping an eye on the newbies. Unfair. Standups are useful for communication between a team in general, if kept brief. If senior engineer X is working on Y and other engineer M has already dealt with Y (unbeknowst to X), it's a great chance for X to say "I'm currently lo…

That's exactly how Opsware Support worked when I was there: https://antipaucity.com/2011/09/15/the-ticket-smash-raw-metr...

Re: Software engineering topics I changed my mind on

#703

Post by wickedsickeune » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 11:07 PM UTC

loosescrews wrote: post #333

jdlshore wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Test driven development requires you to have a spec upfront. What? TDD was created by Kent Beck as part of XP, which is about as far from up-front design and spec as you can get.

How can you write a test for something that doesn't exist without deciding how it is going to work before building it? Tests are a form of a spec.

The point is to never test how it's working. Instead declare what it should be doing. If you can't declare ahead of time what it should be doing (maybe this is what you mean "how it is going to work") then you can't build it, can you?

Re: Software engineering topics I changed my mind on

#704

Post by thw0rted » Wed, Feb 03, 2021, 12:45 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #576

edumucelli wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not understand why people have to wait to discuss the blockers? Discuss a blocker whenever you have one.

Discuss a blocker whenever you have one. But that would require me interrupting one or more people in the middle of whatever they are doing and possibly ruining their flow. Unless there is a very tight deadline, work on something else and bring up your blocker when you know the relevant people have time to listen.

It sounds like your team doesn't have a chat tool (Slack, Teams, etc), or if they do, they're using it wrong.