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Sounds like me.... i relentlessly seek the wrong answer, my self direction is usually off course...I'm always skeptical about my programming abilities and as a consequence of all the above, I'm lazy cause i see no light at the end of the tunnel.Hopefully reading this article will have inspired me to correct my mistakes. I certainly feel empowered right now. - For a change!

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"The programmer productivity myth"? You haven't been in the software industry for long, haven't you?While I agree that the quoted number (28x) is mainly a guess, I have no doubts that code that poor programmers write is orders of magnitude worse (in every possible meaning) that code written by the skilled / intelligent / better ones.I've seen code that was bad beyond imagination too many times in my life. It doesn't work as should, is a nightmare to maintain and often requires many more workhours of those "mythical" better programmers to fix. If you'd like some examples, take a look at sites like The Daily WTF ( <a class="user" href="http://thedailywtf.com/&quot;&gt;http://thedailywtf.com/&lt;/a&gt; ).

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This article is:Long-Winded.Trite.Platitude-ridden.CornyUn-original.What's else can I say? Let me sum-up in one single word:DUH!Now, here's the one best personality trait for a software developer: Drum roll please....Being able to teach, to learn, to and from others.

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I think there are all kinds of great developers, although I agree there is about a 1:28 ratio between the best and the rest.The best developer I ever knew was extremely optimistic and prolific. He would answer any question you had in seconds at the keyboard. Rather then complain and bitch about requirements he would answer with a solution - in code. If it needed to be changed he would simply change it, because change is part of product development. He also kept an excellent balance between work and home life, punctual but family always came first.I think for most programmers, attention to detail and pessimism, where frequently needed, eventually take a front seat to just 'getting things done'. I think programming is one of those jobs that after a few years just becomes more of a nuisance as a career, and programmers seek to expand their position, rather then just becoming product managers and showing how its done, they stay programmers and just become supercritical and grumpy.

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This article is dead on right. I have worked in this industry for years and this is exactly what makes up a good developer. However, I think he missed one point and that is a big brain. If you cannot solve problems you will be a terrible developer. The best people I know who work in the I.T. industry can solve any problem, not just one related to computers. They can fix a car, build an end table, or rewire their basement. They are Natal problem solvers.Cheers.

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Am I the only one laughing when NASA is cited for its excellent software?

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The reason to use tabs is so that anyone can set what a tab width is to whatever they are comfortable with. If they want a tab to be 2 spaces, they can set it. If they want it to be 8 spaces, they can set that. But the code stays the same either way.Personally, I don't care either way. But what I do like to do is set the code formatter to the company's coding standards. Distribute the code formatter settings to all the developers. And just let the code formatter take care of formatting the code.

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Would-be elite #1. You find a specific, popular usage, and that makes it ok. It's still a mistake, and anywhere someone has used a goto, restructuring or rethinking the code obviates it's necessity. It's a crutch shortcutYour argument is classic error in logic #4,. appeal to authority. WellKnownFigure X says thus and so, therefore thus and so must be true.

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Great article, loved it.

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kfilip: "While I agree that the quoted number (28x) is mainly a guess, I have no doubts that code that poor programmers write is orders of magnitude worse (in every possible meaning) that code written by the skilled / intelligent / better ones."No. The quoted number is a result from a research experiment. But it wasn't comparing good programmers to poor programmers, it was comparing programmers with equal experience. You'll have to read the paper to understand why there was a difference.

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