Ask HN: What are the signs that you are a Good, Better, or Best programmer?

    Good: You help your users write their specs.
  Better: You write what you anticipate your users want.
    Best: You users figure out what they want after seeing your prototype.

    Good: When someone asks you what a variable means, you answer quickly.
  Better: No one asks you what your variables mean.
    Best: Others compliment your variable naming.

    Good: When questions arise, you look at your code and answer them.
  Better: When questions arise, you answer them without looking at your code.
    Best: Questions don't arise.

    Good: You are deft at using your favorite IDE.
  Better: You use an IDE with the colors turned off.
    Best: You don't use an IDE.

    Good: You are an expert at debugging.
  Better: Your error conditions anticipate problems before you need a debugger.
    Best: What's a debugger?

    Good: There are no bugs.
  Better: There are no bugs and it runs fast.
    Best: It generates code with no bugs that runs fast.

    Good: Common logic is consolidated into common code.
  Better: Common code is consolidated into parameter-driven common code.
    Best: All code is parameter-driven common logic.

    Good: Your code is easily copied and changed by others.
  Better: Your code is easily used by others through your API.
    Best: Others read your code in order to learn how to do it.

    Good: The next programmer can easily debug any run time errors.
  Better: There are no run time errors.
    Best: Your program fixes itself when it encounters run time errors.

    Good: Your app has many good data base access routines.
  Better: Your app has several good data base access routines.
    Best: Your app has one good data base access routine.

    Good: You can easily add special processing logic at any point.
  Better: You have hooks to easily access any special processing logic.
    Best: Your built in Boolean logic already handles any special processing logic.

    Good: Your code runs so well you have time to lurk at Hacker News.
  Better: Your code runs so well you have time to participate at Hacker News.
    Best: You hang out at Hacker News while your code generators crank away.

The best programmers are working on problems that no one knows how to solve yet.