Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rice!titan!preston
From: preston@titan.rice.edu (Preston Briggs)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Languages & cultures
Message-ID: <5948@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 21 Mar 90 22:07:01 GMT
References: <2605a117.396e@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU> <8440@hubcap.clemson.edu>
Sender: root@rice.edu
Organization: Rice University, Houston
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In article <8440@hubcap.clemson.edu> billwolf%hazel.cs.clemson.edu@hubcap.clemson.edu writes:
>From jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck):
>> Those who like
>> C are more of the craftsman type that like to produce finely wrought
>> masterpieces.

Hmmm.

>   Regarding the level of professional skill, it is and has long been 
>   my position that professional software engineers should have, at a 
>   MINIMUM, a Bachelor's degree (and preferably a Master's degree) in 
>   Computer Science and/or Software Engineering.

I'd say more even training/learning is better.  Despite a bachelor's and
years of personal and industrial programming, I've learned a lot in
grad school.

>   The difference is between those who recognize the need for programming
>   in the large and the economic benefits of operating collectively rather
>   than individually, and those who seek to maintain a one-person business
>   forever despite its limitations and relative inefficiencies.

Hmmmmm.  I believe I'm more efficient (bang for the buck) than any large
group of programmers.  I also believe I can write cleaner, better organized,
better documented programs than a large group of people.  

On the other hand, there's a limit to the size job I can handle in a
reasonable amount of time.  Additionally, working with others is helpful
in many ways: other ideas and viewpoints, negative feedback to prevent
absurd rationalizations (Keith Cooper says "You should work with people
who have good taste").

I also try to build well-crafted programs.  My interpretation is something
like: 

	A clear, straightforward design
	The right algorithms
	Attention to details

Naturally, all these are subject to "taste."  Also, the operative word
is "try."  I'm a better programmer than I used to be, but I still
write "ugly" programs.

Oh yeah, languages...
Well, for Unix I write C (with garbage collection).  
I don't think there's an alternative.
At home I use WEB (Pascal + TeX).  For some experiments, I'm trying SML.
Someday, I'd like to try projects in Clu and Oberon.

--
Preston Briggs				looking for the great leap forward
preston@titan.rice.edu