When coding was a skill

[suityou01]

Remember? Compilng, linking, checking for memory leaks? Good mans coding. Those with this background can code, and appreciate how much things have been dumbed down. These are the chaps that would know to use a short instead of an int. Now any dimbo can churn out script and class themselves a programmer. Only today someone at work said that IT jobs were becoming more akin to being a hairdresser or mechanic.

Dim junk as variant
Dim net as variant
Dim total as variant

total = (net * 0.15) + net

Yay I can code, look at me .......

Will our beloved industry be run into the ground by these charlatans? Will the cowboyists prevail? Or is it sinusoidal?

Do companies hire cheap, them have to pay the price later getting "proper" programmer to come in and sort out Dim Prawns code?

[d000hg]

Better tools don't make programming less of a skill. They mean you can use your skills more effectively. A good developer is still 10X more productive than a poor one.

And there are still areas where knowing all that low-level stuff is important. But most of us would rather work on functionality than wile an afternoon away chasing a lost pointer. C/C++ is a systems programming language, not designed for general application use, after all.

[minestrone]

I worked for a small start up about 7 years ago, company was run by someone that was going to inherit his father's plumbing company. He was adamant that programming was on a similar skill level to a plumber. They went bust and I know that his old boy's company is about to go bust.

[suityou01]

Better tools don't make programming less of a skill. They mean you can use your skills more effectively. A good developer is still 10X more productive than a poor one.

And there are still areas where knowing all that low-level stuff is important. But most of us would rather work on functionality than wile an afternoon away chasing a lost pointer. C/C++ is a systems programming language, not designed for general application use, after all.

Yes but you miss my point. Those with a good grounding appreciate what good coding practice is. Take a look at the above example. Poor use of data types, poor variable naming, no constants, magic numbers, red herring variables and all in about 4 lines of "acceptable" script kiddy code.

As the tools become easier, some become more productive but it also lowers the bar to less capable script kiddies.

[msubhan]

well said.. ...give me old school C/unix shell/perl anyday!

My first computer was a BBC model B (I must have been 9 or 10 becuase I remember having to tell my primary school teacher how to use it!).
My mum used to get me Input magazine (anyone remember it?) - proper
, tight code on 32k!
Given the massive amounts of memory server and client machine have these days there's no incentive to write effecient code....
....rant over...

[suityou01]

well said.. ...give me old school C/unix shell/perl anyday!

My first computer was a BBC model B (I must have been 9 or 10 becuase I remember having to tell my primary school teacher how to use it!).
My mum used to get me Input magazine (anyone remember it?) - proper
, tight code on 32k!
Given the massive amounts of memory server and client machine have these days there's no incentive to write effecient code....
....rant over...

I had a speccy 128k, with micro and disk drives and a ram pack. I also had every copy of Input magazine. I remember one of the code listings was writing your own assembler. F****** A.

[Cliphead]

I used to write Clipper code does that count?

[suityou01]

I used to write Clipper code does that count?

Dbase and clipper. Stop now, I might well up with nostalgia.

[RichardCranium]

Dbase and clipper. Stop now, I might well up with nostalgia.

dBase II

But do you remember CardBox?

[Cliphead]

Dbase and clipper. Stop now, I might well up with nostalgia.

For a giggle I set up a DOS machine a few weeks ago and installed Clipper, Blinker and a few libraries. I still have lots of old code from years ago that used to take about an hour or so to compile and link if starting from scratch, less than a second on a newish PC