The worst kind of programmer

So you’re no meant to use generators/discriminators/whatever because they’re too fancy or something?

IMO any language feature, any technology feature that is there and documented in the API is fair game to be used.

The author seems to be suggesting there is some “standard” way of programming ….. not too advanced mind you …. and that anyone who uses more than some baseline set of features is setting up some crazy complex house of cards.

Codswallop.

What exactly is this line below which you’re a good normal sane programmer and above which you’re a narcissistic primadonna who makes write only software.

Don’t write your software for a baseline of barely competent programmer …. write the best software you can according to the project priorities defined by management.

And use every advanced technique you think is right for the job.

As long as you strive for simplicity then whatever you need to get there is the right technique.

The alternative is done stupid set of rules that go through the programming APIs and cross a whole bunch of stuff out, forbidden for being “too advanced”. Silly. You’re a professional software developer, do your job.

He's someone who has almost 2 years of work experience before he got his degree, meaning he worked and studied simultaneously. Because he works remotely he doesn't stop at 8 hours, I caught him working on an issue at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night, with a Friday deadline (I know because he told me). When I told him to stop doing that cause he will drive himself to burnout he promptly ignored me, claiming that ThePrimeagen and all talented influencers endorse such behavior because it's fine to invest in your career early on.

He's only chasing big firms, and wants to hit senior status before 25. He writes internal company tools in Rust, again because the internet influencers say Rust is cool, and not because there are people in the company who know Rust and can maintain it once he leaves the company (which will happen soon because again, he told me so). He thinks that people should get on his level, and that he shouldn't adapt his work to others, and jokingly threw a "people think I'm hard to work with" remark. He had a job interview where he explicitly asked if they reward high performers who work outside of working hours.

His social media profile is pristine. He keeps a blog that writes for his small side-projects or because he discovered how StringBuilder works and has to analyze it. It doesn't matter if a developer would read it, what matters is the recruiters seeing him grinding.

Before you think "this doesn't affect you in any way" let me clarify: Next time someone asks if you have plans to get married or have a kid, this is the person they actually look for. This is why ageism is a thing. It's not because you're old it's because being young you can afford to not work-life balance. I know that because I'm 40 years old and while I'm not in a life situation where I care about work-life balance I'm implicitly placed in the "this guy gets married soon and has a life" bucket by everyone, even if I explicitly tell them I'm a career-focused guy.

It's the stereotyping based on assumptions which are in turn based on societal expectations that really gets me mad. I'm not experienced enough to make claims like OP does "people like him are detrimental to the team", however since this is capitalism and it rewards what managers think should be rewarded then it's clear which behaviors one must adapt in order to bring food to their plate. Worst or best? It is what it is.

Both languages are becoming far more mainstream, but they are still in the realms of people wanting to play with 'new' languages.

The correct answer is to choose a language that is maintainable by most engineers you have, and if you need something else for technical reasons, hire the new engineers first - never impose a new language on engineers without very good reason, and definitely not because "It's simple".

It's often not the language that's the problem, but all of the 'clever' ways the 'clever' devs use it.