As a front end applications developer of a WO application, when I transferred to our WO project 4 years ago, I didn¹t know WO at all. I came from a PC background, so for that matter I didn¹t know the MAC world at all (all my PC friends told me I had transferred over to the dark side. I agree and I¹ll never go back to PCs). I have a CS and Math degree, had been in Systems Integration and IT Support for many years, had programmed in C, taught myself HTML, had written numerous PC database applications and knew how to analyze and automate companies business processes.
So, I started on this WO application, didn¹t have prior experience with Client/Server applications, WO, Eclipse, Confluence, Jira or Macs and I lived 2000 miles from all the developers on the team only to see them once a month. Some days I wanted to ask questions via IM of someone else on the team and once I was sure that my question would sound logical, I¹d finally ask someone only to get a response back that made no sense to me. The business process that I was working on was also difficult and detailed as well as the existing database design for the rest of the project. Its schema took up half a wall in Paul¹s office, so I had to understand that too. With all that said, I clearly remember, as though it were yesterday, there was one morning, when I was working and all of the sudden it hit me. I kept saying to myself, ³I get it, oh my gosh, I got this. I understand. I see how this all (well, maybe not ³all²) fits together.² However, working from home, there was no one else to share in my excitement except my dog, Pugley, (yes, she¹s a pug). So, I had only a couple months to frantically code everything and meet my deadline that was only a couple months away. I know my coding wasn¹t perfect even once ³I got it², but as I continued coding and kept following other¹s coding patterns, I kept learning more and more and had many more ³Ah Ha² moments. I was also fortunate to have many colleagues that were very gracious and willing to answer my questions and help bring me up to speed. For those that don¹t have that, the WebObjects Mailing List is a great alternative. I¹ve only posted to the list twice, but each time I received responses that helped solve my problems. I just had to comment on this thread because I love programming in WO now. I think it¹s intuitive (sure I say that now) and makes Client Server application development straightforward! If what you¹re looking for is someone to work on the front end then it¹s important to find a well rounded person who understands object oriented design and coding, can understand the customer¹s needs, convert those needs into a design and then build that product (WO can be learned), and if you¹re looking for someone to work on your framework and continue to expand that, then yes, you need someone who is much more technical and understands the nitty-gritty. I hope there are many more applications in the future that will be based on WebObjects. Paula On 9/26/11 5:48 AM, "Pascal Robert" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Le 2011-09-26 à 07:36, Paul Yu a écrit : > >> My experience with hiring programmers. >> >> Type 1: Chasing after the next job. The only reason that they want your job >> is so it prepares them for their next job. They want the acronyms of the day >> to beef up their resume. These guys usually have a lot of acronyms and >> certifications on their resume already. These people would not want to learn >> WebObjects, and you probably don't want to hire these people for you lean >> startup any way. > > +1. And that's why, when doing interviews, I always ask people why they got in > IT and if they participate in open source projects or other development stuff. > If they said they are only programming for their job or they got in IT for the > pay or they only program at their job, they loose points. > >> Type 2: Good programmers. Good programmers are hard to find in this very >> competitive environment. Good programmers in the java space, when presented >> with WebObjects will appreciate its elegance and want to learn it. However, >> if I were a good programmer today, I would be learning iOS development first. >> >> The challenge that we face as a community is that Apple has pulled a lot of >> people into their vortex. There are not many WebObjects ready people >> available to help on projects any more. So even small startups like my own >> will need to look at growing our own teams. As suggested, a good existing >> project/program will help new people transition easier, but without good >> training... This is a chicken-egg problem. Without the demand for the >> training... > > We have to make WO "cool" again, so that means a new "WO in 5 minutes" > presentation, a presentation tailored for iOS people, etc., and a presentation > without some ugly French Canadian accent in it. > >> I wish this was easier... >> >> Paul >> On Sep 26, 2011, at 7:21 AM, Marius Soutier wrote: >> >>> On 26.09.2011, at 12:57, Jim Kinsey wrote: >>> >>>> experienced JEE types who have all the certs under the Sun >>> >>> Nice one! :) >>> >>> I agree with you, people who know Java well and have at least basic Cocoa / >>> CocoaTouch exp should be able to grasp WO rather quickly. >>> >>> I'll check out the Community Talk now, thanks for so much input. A good >>> community is also a big plus :) >>> >>> >>> - Marius >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. >>> Webobjects-dev mailing list ([email protected]) >>> Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: >>> http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/webobjects-dev/pyu%40mac.com >>> >>> This email sent to [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. >> Webobjects-dev mailing list ([email protected]) >> Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: >> http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/webobjects-dev/probert%40macti.ca >> >> This email sent to [email protected] > > > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Webobjects-dev mailing list ([email protected]) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/webobjects-dev/ploehr%40k12.com > > This email sent to [email protected] -- Paula Loehr K12 Inc 719-460-4350 [email protected]
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