** Reply to message from Andrew Lentvorski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:55:56 -0700
> Look, as a CS lecturer, I can't convince most of the other folks in the > department to use version control, automated testing, IDE's, and > virtual machines. And these things genuinely *would* make their lives > easier with just a little bit of effort. > > If you can't even get the "sophisticated" folks to jump, how will you > move those for whom the benefit isn't so clear? >From what I've noticed regarding developers and tools, if they are not forced to use something, they tend to grab any close tool which does just the minimum of what they want to do. They don't look far and if it is too tough to figure out, it's dropped. The only way I see anyone but a geek getting and using virtual machines is if someone first completely sets up one for them. I've given up on even recommending a developer use VMware server and only recommend they use/try the player on a pre-configured VM. I believe the same would go for version control in that it must be setup for them and simple to use with some easy crib notes for the few ways they could move in and out of it. I know people on the Microsoft platform who use a wiki for version control because one developer noticed it had version numbers. They were clueless about the free tools out there and mostly because they don't look outside of what other Microsoft windows users are doing. Another uses MS Excel for trouble ticket tracking. Most people need to be not only lead to the water but taught how to drink and provided instructions so when they try it on their own, they might actually get some water in their mouths. Too few want to put in the time. Doug -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
