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I disagree. I think it is just ranting about something that will never change.
Alas.
The First Rule of UI Design is applicable, methinks:
(New programmers are essentially users.)
A few of them will eventually progress to learn The First Rule of Programming
See http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001079.html
Don't get me wrong. I think a few of those points are worth repeating.
Alas.
The First Rule of UI Design is applicable, methinks:
| Users don't read squat. |
(New programmers are essentially users.)
A few of them will eventually progress to learn The First Rule of Programming
| It's Always Your Fault |
See http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001079.html
Don't get me wrong. I think a few of those points are worth repeating.
I have to agree with Duoas. The intended audience of this post, beginning programmers, are very unlikely to read this. Some of these points are already addressed by articles/1295, but that doesn't stop them from asking how to keep the console open for the nth time, or from posting a couple hundred lines of code without any indentation or suggestion as to what is wrong.
I think it may be a fact of life that new programmers either don't read, or don't read hard enough. I remember sitting in class and hearing the same question over and over again and the teacher basically reading the error message out loud. With that in mind, I believe the post is phrased rather... aggressively. It would seem to suggest that because someone made some/any of those mistakes, they'll inevitably become mediocre programmers at best. Well, that's how I read it, anyway.
I think it may be a fact of life that new programmers either don't read, or don't read hard enough. I remember sitting in class and hearing the same question over and over again and the teacher basically reading the error message out loud. With that in mind, I believe the post is phrased rather... aggressively. It would seem to suggest that because someone made some/any of those mistakes, they'll inevitably become mediocre programmers at best. Well, that's how I read it, anyway.
Thanks helios. Ad Hominem responses don't impress me much either.
jsmith
I didn't disagree with the substance of your post.
I disagreed with your way of presenting the information.
Not only will new programmers not likely read this -- those that begin will immediately stop because it is an attack.
IMO, the best way to correct errant attitudes about programming with any programmer (not just new ones) is to gently suggest a better alternative and the reasons why at the appropriate juncture -- when the error is made. This is part of the learning process.
I have nothing against the occasional rant... but I don't think this needs a sticky.
Good programmers become good programmers because they want to become good programmers.
Mediocre programmers will be mediocre programmers no matter how hard you try to fix them.
Bad programmers become bad programmers because they just don't care.
Consider how esr words his document How To Ask Questions The Smart Way:
http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
--It is a learning tool for those who are actively seeking to learn how to better ask questions and learn something about hacker culture. He makes a clear distinction between the reader and those who waste time.
Well, I've already spent more time than I wanted on this.
jsmith
I didn't disagree with the substance of your post.
I disagreed with your way of presenting the information.
Not only will new programmers not likely read this -- those that begin will immediately stop because it is an attack.
IMO, the best way to correct errant attitudes about programming with any programmer (not just new ones) is to gently suggest a better alternative and the reasons why at the appropriate juncture -- when the error is made. This is part of the learning process.
I have nothing against the occasional rant... but I don't think this needs a sticky.
Good programmers become good programmers because they want to become good programmers.
Mediocre programmers will be mediocre programmers no matter how hard you try to fix them.
Bad programmers become bad programmers because they just don't care.
Consider how esr words his document How To Ask Questions The Smart Way:
http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
--It is a learning tool for those who are actively seeking to learn how to better ask questions and learn something about hacker culture. He makes a clear distinction between the reader and those who waste time.
Well, I've already spent more time than I wanted on this.
I fell into this trap a couple of times :) (and brought it to this forum, where you guys helped me greatly with advice to correct it - big thanks for it!).
The believing part is in the emotions libraries in my head, and the ability to program links externally to it. I think this is the reason I have no problem believing that a bug exists in the OS, in the compiler, and in the world in general, and still look for, find, and fix *my own* bugs that prove it the other way round ;).
| It is possible that a bug exists in the OS, the compiler, or a third-party product-- but this should not be your first thought. It is much more likely that the bug exists in the application code under development. It is generally more profitable to assume that the application code is incorrectly calling into a library than to assume that the library itself is broken. Even if the problem does lie with a third party, you'll still have to eliminate your code before submitting the bug report. |
The believing part is in the emotions libraries in my head, and the ability to program links externally to it. I think this is the reason I have no problem believing that a bug exists in the OS, in the compiler, and in the world in general, and still look for, find, and fix *my own* bugs that prove it the other way round ;).
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