>
>
>Here's what bugs me... Web developers running around saying they can code. I
>can't. I know a fair bit, I've written a hell of a lot of it, and maybe I've
>seen a glimpse of "getting it". It worries me greatly when I see *scripts*
>(this is interpreted, baby!) with hundreds of lines of switch statements,
>when a simplistic table method would have done it in maybe 5% of that (with
>some helper code).
>
>But me? I still know poopies compared to seriously skilled coders, and I
>still make *absolutely* idiotic oversights. Cutting your teeth as a web
>developer does that to you.
Perhaps "code" makes it sounds more "elite" (and I really hate using that
word) than I meant. By code I just meant produce code that works in as
efficient manner as possible. Actually thinking about the way the program
will work, knowing that using algorithm A over algorithm B is a more
optimal algorithm for your particular situation. I'm sure most of the stuff
I've written could be optimised more but it's certainly a lot better than
it could be (except for some of my 1st year uni attempts :) ). I've
certainly never done any coding like you've described. (Well maybe when I
was 10 with Basic, but that was before I learnt about iterative
programming, so I had actually written each variation out manually. But
hey, I hadn't even got to high school then). (I imagine M$ producing code
like you described... ok so I just had to throw in one M$ pun..)
By "getting it" I felt Gus meant getting the concepts of programming, ie
OO, recursion, ADT's, polymorphism etc etc. And if he meant that, then I
can say uni helps you "get it" as I can confidently say I know those
concepts fairly well now. I can't say I have 5 years experience using them
in a job yet but I believe I've "got it" non the less. I certainly feel I
am skilled enough to walk into a proper programming job (not web
development) now that I've just about finished uni and know that I'm going
to be able to work productively and that I can adapt the concepts learnt at
uni to any programming language.
I definitely wouldn't compare well to a skilled coder. 3yrs of programming
@ uni and 1 year of web development work doesn't really put you in that
category. I'd like to think I'll get there one day. Still cutting my teeth
as you say.. Actually got stuck with sysadmin stuff atm running a server so
I'm getting some all round experience. No matter how much you know, there's
still plenty more to learn..
>A sobering thought... A couple of weeks ago I was pointed towards a Linux
>Journal article about qualifications of kernel coders (I don't have the
>link, but it's in their archives). It was done as research after a PHB
>called them something along the lines of 3rd year college long-hairs.
>
>Ultimately, it proved the PHB wrong, as most of the respondents (and there
>were quite a few) were graduates or beyond (way beyond). There were very few
>non-graduates.
>
>Now, I'm not saying I want to be a kernel developer (well, *everyone* wants
>to be a kernel developer "when they grow up" so it doesn't count)... But it
>is an indication of where education will get you.
Yep uni's good fer somethin :) And for most jobs I've seen advertised on
jobnet (for example) the requirements section is prefixed with "Degree".
Employers love bits of paper.
Paul
>*sigh* - Jeff
>
>
>-- please excuse the email software :)
>-- moses hasn't gnu parted the hard drives at work (yet)
>
>
>
>
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