When you go PHP, you know you're getting quality because it takes a special type of developer to wield the incredible power that raw PHP gives you.
You forgot a/s right? Cause you have to be joking.
PHP is indeed a powerful language, but your average PHP developer has no clue what they are doing if they can't just copy and paste it from somewhere (and then they still have trouble explaining how it's doing it). I'm not saying that there are good PHP people out there (I know a few actually), just that it has been the language of choice for anyone that picks up a book and thinks they are now a programmer for some time.
In my last job I worked extensively with PHP and often rolled my own libraries and objects even when the basic functionality exists simply because I disagree with fundamental decisions that were made (like how they (don't) handle errors being the most common. PHP supports Exceptions for christ sake. Use them!).
I can back it up by being a high school drop out that busted his ass for the last 16 years to build the experience and reputation that now has managers and companies fighting over him. I have yet to meet anyone with a CS degree outside of scientific positions where that degree was worth more than if they just spent that amount of time teaching themselves how to do it and getting the entry level jobs. And contrary to the seemingly popular belief among fresh CS graduates, an entry level job is still all they are qualified for.
As to the submitter's question, my honest answer is to forget the syntax. What you really need to understand is the underlying logic of how and why to do things. Once you have a strong basis in logic, languages just become syntax and you can pick that up in a matter of days when the need arises. It also allows you to better recognize when a given language isn't the right tool for the job.
My suggestion would be to join up with a local programming group or two. Find yourself an experienced mentor that can give you some tasks and help you work through them. As a new programmer judging who might be a good mentor will be difficult, but I would say first and foremost to trust your gut. A good programmer will also be one that makes their code look clean and simple even in complex situations and has logical and rational explanations for why they did something one way rather than another.
> First, if it was really OSX, why would they need Google's help to implement Google Maps?
Could it be that the average iPhone won't have the available RAM that most Macs do?
> Second, the interface is obviously significantly different.
From what little i've seen of 10.5, the interface looks fairly similar. When you are working with a smaller screen, you typically make adjustments to UI elements anyway to better use the space you have.
> Third, it's hard to believe a handheld would have the resources to run OSX.
The premise of this article has a significant flaw in my opinion. What defines an OS any more? If Microsoft "scraped" their kernel but kept the UI and the name the same, is it no longer Windows? Because, while they have kept too much backwards compatibility, Vista has very little to do with it's predecessors but it is still called Windows.
No one (with any intelligence) has claimed that it is the same OSX that is used on Macs, but that doesn't mean that doesn't mean it doesn't meet the definition of OSX to Apple. Linux has been made to run on PDAs and Mobiles, but it isn't the full blown kernel that you are likely to run on your desktop.
> Finally, if it was really OSX, then any OSX app would run on it (in theory).
Yeah, because PPC compiled code can run on an Intel Mac without Rosetta. And Rosetta is such a high performer and uses so few resources that there is no need to really make Universal (or Intel only) binaries...
> I suspect it's "OS X" like my PDA runs "Windows".
That will be exactly what you see, though I imagine it will be less of a bastard sibling like Windows (based on what i've read/heard, i've never used a Windows PDA).
In the end, what does it even matter? Apple owns the OSX name for their operating systems. If they want to say something is running OSX, they are the only ones that know if that is true or not. And since they can always redefine what "OSX" means as an OS name, if someone like Steve says it publicly your just going to have to accept that that is what they are calling it.
They are still wrong. You can set it up in the International Sys Pref pane in 10.4 (I forget how to do it in 10.4, but it was possible there too). www.macosxhints.com has had the info about how to do it ever since 10.4 came out (and they had the info for pre-10.4 versions well before then).
I would go insane if I didn't have my date.
Personally the writer comes across as an idiot. He obviously has not bothered to read any of the Mac sites out there that tell you how to get around most of his issues (I do agree with his look&feel argument and can see is point on the window sizes (though I prefer the single corner myself)). For example, why drill down to your Applications folder? Why not just drag it into your Dock (right side of the break next to the Trash)? Then you can right click and there is everything.
-dave
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When you go PHP, you know you're getting quality because it takes a special type of developer to wield the incredible power that raw PHP gives you.
You forgot a /s right? Cause you have to be joking.
PHP is indeed a powerful language, but your average PHP developer has no clue what they are doing if they can't just copy and paste it from somewhere (and then they still have trouble explaining how it's doing it). I'm not saying that there are good PHP people out there (I know a few actually), just that it has been the language of choice for anyone that picks up a book and thinks they are now a programmer for some time.
In my last job I worked extensively with PHP and often rolled my own libraries and objects even when the basic functionality exists simply because I disagree with fundamental decisions that were made (like how they (don't) handle errors being the most common. PHP supports Exceptions for christ sake. Use them!).
I can back it up by being a high school drop out that busted his ass for the last 16 years to build the experience and reputation that now has managers and companies fighting over him. I have yet to meet anyone with a CS degree outside of scientific positions where that degree was worth more than if they just spent that amount of time teaching themselves how to do it and getting the entry level jobs. And contrary to the seemingly popular belief among fresh CS graduates, an entry level job is still all they are qualified for.
As to the submitter's question, my honest answer is to forget the syntax. What you really need to understand is the underlying logic of how and why to do things. Once you have a strong basis in logic, languages just become syntax and you can pick that up in a matter of days when the need arises. It also allows you to better recognize when a given language isn't the right tool for the job.
My suggestion would be to join up with a local programming group or two. Find yourself an experienced mentor that can give you some tasks and help you work through them. As a new programmer judging who might be a good mentor will be difficult, but I would say first and foremost to trust your gut. A good programmer will also be one that makes their code look clean and simple even in complex situations and has logical and rational explanations for why they did something one way rather than another.
> First, if it was really OSX, why would they need Google's help to implement Google Maps? Could it be that the average iPhone won't have the available RAM that most Macs do? > Second, the interface is obviously significantly different. From what little i've seen of 10.5, the interface looks fairly similar. When you are working with a smaller screen, you typically make adjustments to UI elements anyway to better use the space you have. > Third, it's hard to believe a handheld would have the resources to run OSX. The premise of this article has a significant flaw in my opinion. What defines an OS any more? If Microsoft "scraped" their kernel but kept the UI and the name the same, is it no longer Windows? Because, while they have kept too much backwards compatibility, Vista has very little to do with it's predecessors but it is still called Windows. No one (with any intelligence) has claimed that it is the same OSX that is used on Macs, but that doesn't mean that doesn't mean it doesn't meet the definition of OSX to Apple. Linux has been made to run on PDAs and Mobiles, but it isn't the full blown kernel that you are likely to run on your desktop. > Finally, if it was really OSX, then any OSX app would run on it (in theory). Yeah, because PPC compiled code can run on an Intel Mac without Rosetta. And Rosetta is such a high performer and uses so few resources that there is no need to really make Universal (or Intel only) binaries... > I suspect it's "OS X" like my PDA runs "Windows". That will be exactly what you see, though I imagine it will be less of a bastard sibling like Windows (based on what i've read/heard, i've never used a Windows PDA). In the end, what does it even matter? Apple owns the OSX name for their operating systems. If they want to say something is running OSX, they are the only ones that know if that is true or not. And since they can always redefine what "OSX" means as an OS name, if someone like Steve says it publicly your just going to have to accept that that is what they are calling it.
They are still wrong. You can set it up in the International Sys Pref pane in 10.4 (I forget how to do it in 10.4, but it was possible there too). www.macosxhints.com has had the info about how to do it ever since 10.4 came out (and they had the info for pre-10.4 versions well before then). I would go insane if I didn't have my date. Personally the writer comes across as an idiot. He obviously has not bothered to read any of the Mac sites out there that tell you how to get around most of his issues (I do agree with his look&feel argument and can see is point on the window sizes (though I prefer the single corner myself)). For example, why drill down to your Applications folder? Why not just drag it into your Dock (right side of the break next to the Trash)? Then you can right click and there is everything. -dave