COBOL is massively different from the C family of languages, even with the OO added to it.
And as for Fortran, it may be alive and well, but try replacing a Fortran job once you lose it.
I've personally never worked with truly excellent developers that didn't start at least hacking in their early teens (or earlier). Doesn't mean it isn't possible, but there's a difference between being able to write code, understanding libraries, and truly start running code in your head while actually thinking in terms of the language.
And the over 35 thing is garbage, IMO. You move on from programming to design (architecture) or lead roles, but IMO diminishing skills would be due to atrophy, not age.
Maybe if they hadn't let the featureset get so stale over the years, they wouldn't have to make a choice between cleaning up the mess that is Java vs. achieving parity with.Net. They should have added lambdas years ago, but it's like pulling teeth to get them to make major releases.
Let Explorer run Metro apps (non-maximized, with chrome), and let Metro run Explorer apps (maximized, chromeless). Then let user choose the mode, default being based on form factor but overridable by user.
At home, I have a single 24", but I am about to go a more ideal two 24's. I consider that ideal because I am not programming full speed, and I have a television to the side as a "3rd" monitor. At work, I have two 19" screens, but my preference would be three of them (preferably with a single widescreen), so that I have an IDE window, a debugging window to play the app, and then a third screen for browsing or other OS-packaged apps.
Yeah, I'm really getting used to being forced to check my POP3 inboxes using my supposedly less-powerful WinPhone. And the IE10 renderer's tendency to render all-white/all-black when I have more than 8 tabs open tells me I've been using the browser wrong all these years.
I wouldn't want to fire someone for not reading the class documentation (lots of folks are still coming up in the world and haven't yet learned to appreciate having good documentation), but it would definitely be a catalyst for a teaching moment. I've been programming for almost 30 years and still take the (small amount of) time to read class documentation. Less excusable with a senior-level developer, but it's a lesson better learned through positive reinforcement than negative.
A well-written program is still at the mercy of its runtime's own exceptions. OutOfMemoryException is another one that can bite you through little-to-no fault of your own, but you still want to handle it in some fashion (assuming "well-written" includes "is graceful", which I believe in)
The problem with return codes, IMO, is that the operating system/runtime natively use exceptions, so when you *attempt* to convert code to using error codes, you have a false sense of security that your app won't crash due to thinking you're not using exceptions. I've run into this a couple of times: the architect thinks his/her app is rock-solid (in terms of crashing) but the fact is, you cannot escape exceptions. You may not throw exceptions, but your runtime does, and as a result, your code doesn't use try-catch anywhere. Then you get an exception you don't expect (i.e. a system exception, such as NullReference), and guess what? Your app crashes. Or even worse, you wind up putting a catch (Exception) {} into your code thinking you'll just convert your error into an error code, but you end up losing the true nature of the error as you convert your context-specific exception into a general "ActionFailed" error code. This kind of error winds up being a pain in the ass to diagnose, as you have to backtrack in your code to find where your error information got lost during the conversion.
I tend to personally refer to myself as "programmer" or "software dev(eloper)", but it really depends on the employer. Some companies hire their devs as "programmer" or "programmer/analyst", some use "software developer" or even something like ".net developer", while others do use "software engineer". Some states do not allow the improper use of "engineer", while others do (my current one allows it, and my company refers to me as such).
And then, there's also the can o' worms known as "software architect", which is high-falutin' synonym for "tech lead", IMO.
What's with the trend of these guys spending time calculating fictional things? Wasn't there a mathematician last week who tried calculating some Cthulhu/wormhole fantasy? Waste...of...reputation.
Adobe's getting the autoupdate part, but they're using it as a crutch for their inability to test code thoroughly before publishing. Auto-updating is great to have and good to use, but when the same product is being updated every few weeks (maybe sooner...I just go by how often Adobe updates whenever I reboot my machine) for years on end, it should tell the product management something.
Less surprising is that the top vulnerabilities are Oracle's Java and Adobe products. In fact, Adobe can claim 5 of the top 10. Too bad I still have Reader and Flash on my system, but Java was purged from my system about a week after I stopped doing Java development.
This is the point where his boss should tell him, "The purpose of science is to serve mankind. You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Dr. Tippett."
I'm a stickler for consistent styling as well as formatting. It's one of the reasons I like.Net so much - they have a nice code analysis engine built into their build system as well as a decent style engine that can be added on. There's a bit of adjustment when the source control system rejects non-compliant code, but once you start learning what the guidelines are, it gets easier to write it properly the first time. The base framework itself is reasonly conformant to those guidelines, so more effort can be placed towards effectively interfacing with the libraries.
And it's interesting that almost every place I have worked *wants* to use MS formatting/style guidelines; it's just rare for the boss actually pulls the trigger on enforcing it (inevitably, the argument goes towards "yeah, but how much of an effort will it be to make all of our existing code conform?"). Fortunately, I am currently on a.0 product version that entails a rewrite, the question of making existing code compliant is a non-starter.
Slashdot Mirror
COBOL is massively different from the C family of languages, even with the OO added to it. And as for Fortran, it may be alive and well, but try replacing a Fortran job once you lose it.
So you sent your info to someone encrypted. They sent it back to you unencrypted. SSL *does* assume you trust the recipient.
I've personally never worked with truly excellent developers that didn't start at least hacking in their early teens (or earlier). Doesn't mean it isn't possible, but there's a difference between being able to write code, understanding libraries, and truly start running code in your head while actually thinking in terms of the language. And the over 35 thing is garbage, IMO. You move on from programming to design (architecture) or lead roles, but IMO diminishing skills would be due to atrophy, not age.
Seriously.
Wash, rinse, repeat
Maybe if they hadn't let the featureset get so stale over the years, they wouldn't have to make a choice between cleaning up the mess that is Java vs. achieving parity with .Net. They should have added lambdas years ago, but it's like pulling teeth to get them to make major releases.
Let Explorer run Metro apps (non-maximized, with chrome), and let Metro run Explorer apps (maximized, chromeless). Then let user choose the mode, default being based on form factor but overridable by user.
But that's because it got absorbed into Direct3D. Probably the same thing going on here.
Microsoft called and wants its SPOT watch back. Oh, wait, no it doesn't.
Damn, I remember those games. People hate DRM now, but the stuff back in the 80s could physically break hardware. The hammering drive DRM was unreal.
At home, I have a single 24", but I am about to go a more ideal two 24's. I consider that ideal because I am not programming full speed, and I have a television to the side as a "3rd" monitor.
At work, I have two 19" screens, but my preference would be three of them (preferably with a single widescreen), so that I have an IDE window, a debugging window to play the app, and then a third screen for browsing or other OS-packaged apps.
I'd say he'll give new meaning to "hard time", but really, it's not new.
Yeah, I'm really getting used to being forced to check my POP3 inboxes using my supposedly less-powerful WinPhone. And the IE10 renderer's tendency to render all-white/all-black when I have more than 8 tabs open tells me I've been using the browser wrong all these years.
Just what the world needs - tinkering-level programmers utilizing their weakly-typed language skills in enterprise code.
I wouldn't want to fire someone for not reading the class documentation (lots of folks are still coming up in the world and haven't yet learned to appreciate having good documentation), but it would definitely be a catalyst for a teaching moment. I've been programming for almost 30 years and still take the (small amount of) time to read class documentation. Less excusable with a senior-level developer, but it's a lesson better learned through positive reinforcement than negative.
A well-written program is still at the mercy of its runtime's own exceptions. OutOfMemoryException is another one that can bite you through little-to-no fault of your own, but you still want to handle it in some fashion (assuming "well-written" includes "is graceful", which I believe in)
The problem with return codes, IMO, is that the operating system/runtime natively use exceptions, so when you *attempt* to convert code to using error codes, you have a false sense of security that your app won't crash due to thinking you're not using exceptions. I've run into this a couple of times: the architect thinks his/her app is rock-solid (in terms of crashing) but the fact is, you cannot escape exceptions. You may not throw exceptions, but your runtime does, and as a result, your code doesn't use try-catch anywhere. Then you get an exception you don't expect (i.e. a system exception, such as NullReference), and guess what? Your app crashes. Or even worse, you wind up putting a catch (Exception) {} into your code thinking you'll just convert your error into an error code, but you end up losing the true nature of the error as you convert your context-specific exception into a general "ActionFailed" error code. This kind of error winds up being a pain in the ass to diagnose, as you have to backtrack in your code to find where your error information got lost during the conversion.
Not only that, but randomly dumping out slashes and backslashes is "amazing" code.
I tend to personally refer to myself as "programmer" or "software dev(eloper)", but it really depends on the employer. Some companies hire their devs as "programmer" or "programmer/analyst", some use "software developer" or even something like ".net developer", while others do use "software engineer". Some states do not allow the improper use of "engineer", while others do (my current one allows it, and my company refers to me as such). And then, there's also the can o' worms known as "software architect", which is high-falutin' synonym for "tech lead", IMO.
What's with the trend of these guys spending time calculating fictional things? Wasn't there a mathematician last week who tried calculating some Cthulhu/wormhole fantasy? Waste...of...reputation.
Adobe's getting the autoupdate part, but they're using it as a crutch for their inability to test code thoroughly before publishing. Auto-updating is great to have and good to use, but when the same product is being updated every few weeks (maybe sooner...I just go by how often Adobe updates whenever I reboot my machine) for years on end, it should tell the product management something.
Less surprising is that the top vulnerabilities are Oracle's Java and Adobe products. In fact, Adobe can claim 5 of the top 10. Too bad I still have Reader and Flash on my system, but Java was purged from my system about a week after I stopped doing Java development.
This is the point where his boss should tell him, "The purpose of science is to serve mankind. You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Dr. Tippett."
So you'd rather have the OS chew up cycles than let the apps have them?
I'm a stickler for consistent styling as well as formatting. It's one of the reasons I like .Net so much - they have a nice code analysis engine built into their build system as well as a decent style engine that can be added on. There's a bit of adjustment when the source control system rejects non-compliant code, but once you start learning what the guidelines are, it gets easier to write it properly the first time. The base framework itself is reasonly conformant to those guidelines, so more effort can be placed towards effectively interfacing with the libraries.
And it's interesting that almost every place I have worked *wants* to use MS formatting/style guidelines; it's just rare for the boss actually pulls the trigger on enforcing it (inevitably, the argument goes towards "yeah, but how much of an effort will it be to make all of our existing code conform?"). Fortunately, I am currently on a .0 product version that entails a rewrite, the question of making existing code compliant is a non-starter.