Comments | wzdd: On computer programming

wzdd

On computer programming

Aug 10, 2007 00:00

It's hard to make analogies about being a computer programmer because I honestly believe it is quite different to other professions in which practitioners tend to be held accountable for their actions. With programming, you are in charge of not only the Platonic ideal but also the real-world implementation of any solution. The implementation always ( Read more... )

Comments 14

thanks anonymous August 12 2007, 12:00:23 UTC

great post.

Re: thanks wzdd August 12 2007, 12:59:26 UTC

Thanks, random person!

Always the kitchen sink tech_charles August 12 2007, 14:05:25 UTC

Of course the team developing version n+1 decide to dispense with the shower altogether and just supply the kitchen sink, suddenly giving the user an empty room. The team decides to use the extra space to house a system to monitor the usage and performance of said sink...

Theory: "Given enough iterations, every design will involve the kitchen sink"

Re: Always the kitchen sink wzdd August 13 2007, 13:43:07 UTC

Hehe. The tendency of technical users towards giant monitoring ... things could be a whole new post, too!

It doesn't have to be this way ext_27354 August 12 2007, 15:37:46 UTC

With experience comes wisdom, and the knowledge that it is necessary to use appropriate materials. Thus you do not built the shower wall with soap, because you have heard users of other such systems complain about the rats, or previous systems caused user dissatisfaction.

If nobody is holding you accountable for poor design you should change jobs. Otherwise, how will you ever improve?

Sartorial advice: give up the man bag ...

Re: It doesn't have to be this way wzdd August 13 2007, 02:53:14 UTC

Hi Steve! (Is this Steve? I have enjoyed your posts on c.l.py.)

If nobody is holding you accountable for poor design you should change jobs. Otherwise, how will you ever improve?

Unfunny clarification time. This entry is satire. It's a comment on the software industry as a whole, not a complaint about my manager. I don't even have a manager. Also (I feel silly saying this, but) I don't follow the "rat poison" development methodology.

Sartorial advice: give up the man bag ...

No! I think the presence of the bag may attract interesting new types of people, and I am keen to meet them. Hopefully these people are not muggers.

On computer programming anonymous August 12 2007, 16:02:37 UTC

Worse, everybody now knows that there is a shower method.We've all been told that it's not productive to re-invent something that already exists. Worse yet, The one guy with a garage full of tiles won't be allowed to modify the method because they are not compatible with existing installations..

Re: On computer programming wzdd August 13 2007, 13:47:56 UTC

Hmm, I wonder if we can apply OO principles like encapsulation and re-use here. We would end up with one giant shower block for the whole community that would have a million different attachments -- giant spray guns in case anyone decided to wash an elephant, for example.

certifiedwaif August 13 2007, 11:41:30 UTC

Great post, Nicholas.

A pure mathematician's contribution to the malaise would probably be to marvel at the symmetry of the soap bubbles. Today in algebra we proved that the symmetry of an orangutang whose product with itself is itself is isomorphic to {1}.

wzdd August 13 2007, 13:41:51 UTC

Thanks Mark!

My mind has been opened (or blown, it's difficult to tell). My life would be very different today if, back when I was selecting University courses, I had known that pure mathematics involved apes at such a deep level.

Nice to hear from you, too. :)