Comments on: Let’s Be Independent Together http://codeanthem.latchbabies.com/blog/2010/04/lets-be-independent-together/ Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:14:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: tz http://codeanthem.latchbabies.com/blog/2010/04/lets-be-independent-together/comment-page-1/#comment-287 tz Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:50:24 +0000 http://www.codeanthem.com/blog/?p=189#comment-287 When I started, I was already highly paid. I did engineering, but at the time it was COBOL and we had a years in caste system starting with programmer, then programmer-analyst, then system analyst, then database analyst. I was in the top tier. At the time the contract company I worked for noted that the COBOL programmers were mostly the same so fit well, but engineers were all different. Some like me did microprocessors, others did CAD or UNIX, others did things for those newfangled PCs. That was in the early '80s. The first thing I learned is how to learn. That is ask relevant questions, find the information, organize it, then use it. Read, understand, analyze, solve. That was in gradeschool. That hasn't changed. A year ago I didn't know Atmel. I knew a lot of other micros, linux (I've code in the kernel), hardware, but not that. My current job needed it and I discovered the Arduino. I now have a data logging system using multiple micros and sensors on my Harley. But India is cheaper. Chinese PhDs too. Get a few people here and a hoard there and you have software at a discount!. The industry as such is likely to fail because they don't understand creative quality. It isn't from interchangable ISO-9000 programming personnel units. 500 art students will never equal one Michaelangelo, 500 marching band members one Mozart. But one caution. What can they "do"? Answer Jeopardy games like "what is the singleton pattern?". Know precedence of three languages the top of their head? Or actually write something utterly new? Take something which is slow or bulky and make it sleek? (I recently did a QR encoder in C that fits in a microcontroller and doesn't use a single divide - you might not care but divides use 100x the power because of the number of gates than an add/subtract). Too often what is tested is the ability to take tests. Or (warning: war story) the company gets a programmer and then places them in a box where no one has decided what they want, but the schedule says the requirements are done and it is time to work on the design. How? And what about critical programming? Things like medical devices, airplanes and railroads? Or security. Especially security since snake oil looks like its working until you notice you are hacked. (I have stories...) When I started, I was already highly paid. I did engineering, but at the time it was COBOL and we had a years in caste system starting with programmer, then programmer-analyst, then system analyst, then database analyst. I was in the top tier. At the time the contract company I worked for noted that the COBOL programmers were mostly the same so fit well, but engineers were all different. Some like me did microprocessors, others did CAD or UNIX, others did things for those newfangled PCs. That was in the early ’80s.

The first thing I learned is how to learn. That is ask relevant questions, find the information, organize it, then use it. Read, understand, analyze, solve. That was in gradeschool. That hasn’t changed.

A year ago I didn’t know Atmel. I knew a lot of other micros, linux (I’ve code in the kernel), hardware, but not that. My current job needed it and I discovered the Arduino. I now have a data logging system using multiple micros and sensors on my Harley.

But India is cheaper. Chinese PhDs too. Get a few people here and a hoard there and you have software at a discount!.

The industry as such is likely to fail because they don’t understand creative quality. It isn’t from interchangable ISO-9000 programming personnel units.

500 art students will never equal one Michaelangelo, 500 marching band members one Mozart.

But one caution. What can they “do”? Answer Jeopardy games like “what is the singleton pattern?”. Know precedence of three languages the top of their head? Or actually write something utterly new? Take something which is slow or bulky and make it sleek? (I recently did a QR encoder in C that fits in a microcontroller and doesn’t use a single divide – you might not care but divides use 100x the power because of the number of gates than an add/subtract).

Too often what is tested is the ability to take tests.

Or (warning: war story) the company gets a programmer and then places them in a box where no one has decided what they want, but the schedule says the requirements are done and it is time to work on the design. How?

And what about critical programming? Things like medical devices, airplanes and railroads? Or security. Especially security since snake oil looks like its working until you notice you are hacked. (I have stories…)

]]> By: Kelly French http://codeanthem.latchbabies.com/blog/2010/04/lets-be-independent-together/comment-page-1/#comment-257 Kelly French Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:45:40 +0000 http://www.codeanthem.com/blog/?p=189#comment-257 I asked the question about great programmers being paid more than average programmers that John mentions in the linked post. The question asked on the Stackoverflow podcast was turned into a <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1767957/paying-great-programmers-more-than-average-programmers" rel="nofollow">Stackoverflow question</a>. That question also inspired a <a href="http://codewright.blogspot.com/2009/12/of-rockstars-and-bricklayers.html" rel="nofollow">blog post of mine</a> to go into more detail on the subject. Thanks for bringing the subject up again. I asked the question about great programmers being paid more than average programmers that John mentions in the linked post. The question asked on the Stackoverflow podcast was turned into a Stackoverflow question. That question also inspired a blog post of mine to go into more detail on the subject. Thanks for bringing the subject up again.

]]> By: Zerolinesofcode http://codeanthem.latchbabies.com/blog/2010/04/lets-be-independent-together/comment-page-1/#comment-235 Zerolinesofcode Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:45:16 +0000 http://www.codeanthem.com/blog/?p=189#comment-235 This posts discusses the free software and developer expectations, Obviously, the world is not a zero sum game. http://zerolinesofcode.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/oracle-starts-to-monetize-free-software-is-it-wrong/ This posts discusses the free software and developer expectations, Obviously, the world is not a zero sum game.

http://zerolinesofcode.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/oracle-starts-to-monetize-free-software-is-it-wrong/

]]> By: TD http://codeanthem.latchbabies.com/blog/2010/04/lets-be-independent-together/comment-page-1/#comment-229 TD Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:45:06 +0000 http://www.codeanthem.com/blog/?p=189#comment-229 I got goosebumps at the end of that ... You guys are awesome, and I enjoy reading your blog entries very much, and look forward to seeing what your up to behind the curtain! -TD I got goosebumps at the end of that …

You guys are awesome, and I enjoy reading your blog entries very much, and look forward to seeing what your up to behind the curtain!

-TD

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