LinkLog: Programmers and Programming

I have been collecting some links that describes/categorizes programmers and their attitudes. Some of them are brutal and others hilarious. Here are a list of links.

Three Levels of Programmers

I don’t like the classification – Good, Lazy and Bad. I would rather call them – Tool makers, Tool Users, Grunt workers. A Building Tools mentality is something different from Using Tools mentality. I don’t agree that one is superior to the other.

The Cults of Programming

I can identify with a few of these myself especially Ease Cult and Uncertainty Cult.

The Cult of Language Expertise

Language expertise is fine, but it isn’t the most valuable thing out there. If someone programs conscientiously, I can work with them.

How to Recognize a Good Programmer

Passion, Self teaching and love of learning, intelligence are all mentioned in this article. Formal education is last in the list. I would add a couple of more – empathy for the users (of your software) and certain amount of Pride in your work, goes a long way too.

Teach Yourself Programming in 10 years

Researchers (Hayes, Bloom) have shown it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition, painting, piano playing, swimming, tennis, and research in neuropsychology and topology.

This is my all time favorite. It is a must read for anyone aspiring to be a programmer.
P.S:

I will keep this updated whenever I see a new interesting entry. If you find something interesting that should be in this list, please add a comment with a link.

2 thoughts on “LinkLog: Programmers and Programming

  1. just picked up a copy of i.t. magazine at the local newstand in tiruvannamalai, tamil naduu, south india, read the article by you, and checked out your site…. more than five years of archives, wow… i like the layer from which you describe the tech scene, something like a philosophical approach, combined with tech…

    will bookmark it, drop by and keep up with your work…

    enjoy,
    gregory

  2. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    One is for reading my article and another is for visiting my site and the third is for taking the effort to make a comment. Even if I have a few readers like you, my efforts at sharing knowledge is more than fulfilled. You made my day. Thank you again.

    Dorai

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