The Whiteboard

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user55340

12:25 AM

Hmm. Did a search for "learn how to debug" and got back samizdat.mines.edu/howto/HowToBeAProgrammer.html apparently those miner types know what they're doing (its one of the first points on the 'how to be a programmer'.

user55340

Sections include:
* How to Use Source Code Control
* How to Work with Poor Code
* How to Recognize When to Go Home
* How to Talk to Non-Engineers

user55340

@Ampt read this - there's good advice for every level in there and you need some more reading material. Ignore the bit about the source of the page, those mimes apparently have good material.

user41796

1:43 AM

@MichaelT I think your answer was pretty solid. I added my own just to put my perspective on there. Yeah, we voted to delete a little early in this case. But I still think the edits were borderline for baiting people into a flame war.

user55340

@GlenH7 I still read it like a rant... and going over its again... its a rant.

user55340

"Why isn't someone else doing something the way I expect them to?"

user41796

agreed. Even forgiving the ESL, it's borderline inflammatory

user41796

or just plain entitled, yes.

user41796

even in the comments he was attacking others. Doc Brown's retort was pretty good

user55340

2:01 AM

@GlenH7 btw, poke at samizdat.mines.edu/howto/HowToBeAProgrammer.html

user55340

How to be a Programmer

user55340

(ok, I think its important and should get some attention for awhile)

user55340

Heh... "reopen queue... question, glance at the user, goma, leave closed"

Jimmy Hoffa

7:23 AM

Alright, just reading the table of contents - that is pretty awesome. I love how the "Personal Skills" section goes away in the advanced section and the implication that it makes which is fairly accurate: If you're at this level, you have at this point gained the relevant personal technical skills.

One section that should fit perfectly that I don't see (but is probably in there somewhere) that should be in the intermediate section (kind of key to becoming 'Advanced') is how to execute a technical analysis. This is one of those things I see as one of the key differentiators in a senior developer - you should be able to hand off most any technology or set of requirements or what not to a senior, give them a few days or week depending on the topic/technology scope, and have them turn out a

detailed technical analysis of technology and other choices - pros/cons, purposes, industry perceptions, approaches/practices, well-fittedness for the desired purpose etc

9 hours later…

Ampt

4:25 PM

@MichaelT The school of Mines was one of my options for college actually

2 hours later…

aliteralmind

6:14 PM

I posted my question in reddit/programming. Apparently, reddit is a cesspool of snark and negativity. reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1xwse0/…

user55340

@aliteralmind They've got quite a bit more snark than we do.

Robert Harvey

6:33 PM

The Internet is a cesspool of snark and negativity. Some places just happen to be especially good attractors.

@MichaelT: How do you effectively bid a job when you have competing bidders and nobody is doing a detailed requirements breakdown? Do you just take your best shot, based on experience? How do you keep the client from adding new features and bikeshedding the user interface?

user55340

@RobertHarvey First bit to consider - if they get it and underbid, sucks to be both of them. Hopefully they'll both appreciate requirements later...

user55340

But otherwise, its a 'best shot'. You could sit down and write the "this is what I think the requirements are, and based on this..."

Robert Harvey

So basically you have to be willing to let the work go if the bidding process is too risky.

user55340

If people are underbidding you tot he point where its not going to be worth the time/stress... absolutely let it go.

Robert Harvey

Then hopefully you're experienced at making estimates without sufficient information, estimates that will give you enough money to deal with the inevitable aggravation that follows. You could tell the client that you intend to adjust your estimates upward if the needs analysis finds that the scope is larger than the client's original project description. — Robert Harvey 1 min ago

user55340

6:46 PM

If you can't get the requirements from the client, you make them up based on what you think they want and write an iron clad contract that says "this is what you get" and then get the requirements as you negotiate the contract.

user55340

Sometimes, you may have a better idea what the client wants than the client does themselves.

user55340

There are more than enough clients that don't know what they want and get someone who doesn't know what they want either and they ultimately write a mutually dissatisfying contract.

user55340

A fixed price contract that charges too much for too little (or too little for too much)... or an hourly contract that runs out of money too soon. Bad things there.

Jubbat

7:44 PM

@aliteralmind there are only a couple of openly hostile comments out of eight, I've seen much worse. Reddit is generally quite cool, some other sites on the other hand... (looking at you HN)

user20683

7:59 PM

@Jubbat depends on the subreddit in my experience.

gnat

8:26 PM

downvotes please. The more the better. Quick closure and deletion are appreciated as well...

-2

Q: What would be the smartest way to organize a coffee cooperative at work?

There is a coffee crisis in my workplace. I work in a large office setting, about 200 people. The story was that, in order for us to enjoy our sweet java, we had to pay $5.00 monthly to our friendly secretary. Not a big deal, right? Just walk up to her and hand a fiver. Reality struck : between...

last time we had this crap was with programmers gift iirc

all right, it's gone now

next please (am I supposed to waste close votes on that bleh?)

-2

Q: HDTV for PC monitor

CRT age was great. I want to magnify, my only solution is low screen resolution on big screen. I don't want to increase DPI, font, because it is not perfect. DPI option is really useless. 28" HDTV with 1366x768, this is huge pixel. I already read some said HDTV quality is worse than PC monitor...

monitor

aliteralmind

8:52 PM

@Jubbat Six out of those eight comments range from subtle jabs to outright profane. One hundred percent depressing. And fifty percent of the other two comments are MINE. Glad to have found stackexchange, that's for sure.

user20683

9:21 PM

@aliteralmind We have a reputation about having a stick up our asses but we simply want peace and quiet :)

Ampt

9:51 PM

@aliteralmind just figuring that out?

Trust me, the people of reddit aren't your target audience for profressional programmers

aliteralmind

@Ampt So if you have a professional programming blog article you're happy with, where do you start, as far as promoting that type of thing?

Ampt

Step 1: Write good content

like really good