-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 7/6/10 20:19 , Chris Adamson wrote: > > I appreciate that there are purists who argue that this approach > is going to lead to tool dependency and bad habits, but I've come > to realize that beginners are deeply invested in concretes, and > that abstraction comes to them later. Trying to lecture a young > person -- or someone contemplating a career swap -- on software > engineering principles and language concepts just doesn't work. > They want results, and I think teachers and authors could try > embracing that. The wisdom and the conceptual understanding will > come later to those who stick with it.
I think you've got some good points, but I'll add some provocative statements. I'll also start from your point and eventually bring it to an extreme, so don't say I'm misquoting you because I'm just taking the starting point and move on just to explore the scenario :-). Let's make a step back and ask ourselves who are those beginners and which are their goals. If they're going to work for a corporate on a project of some complexity, we are in the classic scenario of a software that needs some good qualities to be profitable and there's the trade-off "learn solid concepts vs get a first result quickly". But if they are just trying some success in selling their apps, we can't ignore that many of those apps that give some bucks back are what I call "successful shit". That is, things that are pretty useless, often idiotic, pretty simple, but people like them. You don't need any software factory / good practices at the industrial level for this kind of development, because the life cycle of those apps is very simple. Just to be clear: I'm not happy at thinking in this perspective. First, because all of that "successful shit" will not make people (= end customers) safer, savvier, more productive etc and second because this will potentially spread bad engineering culture. My former argument is clearly a moralistic and subjective approach to technology, so it's not relevant in a global perspective. The latter might have some implications, though. - -- Fabrizio Giudici - Java Architect, Project Manager Tidalwave s.a.s. - "We make Java work. Everywhere." java.net/blog/fabriziogiudici - www.tidalwave.it/people [email protected] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.14 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkwzebcACgkQeDweFqgUGxdHCQCdFx4xTgam/+cCse5z/UxQgBZ3 OEAAoLLq3M++Ul7E27qu471DqIMDtkHp =kK31 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
