[thelist] OT - do programmers/designers know everything?

Tue Jul 23 13:57:01 CDT 2002

> From: "Roger Harness" <magic32 at jps.net>
[...]
> 1. Are most of the folks on this list (for example) actually making a
> decent living programming, coding, design etc? Whether it be
> free-lance, or working for other companies etc?

yes... i started right out of college as a webmaster, then moved on
to developing e-commerce sites, then spun off my own gig five
years ago that's grown to about 17 people today...  starting it was
hell -- long hours (which i still do), little to no pay, lots of scraping --
but ultimately, it's a business, and expecting to just become a
wealthy guy without the ramp up time would be silly...

> 2. For the folks that ARE doing well enough to not have to work a
> 'real' job (you know...as in retail, services...etc etc,...anything
> NOT to do with their web passions)...do you folks actually know in
> your head most of the skills you need to perform? For example,
> PERL/CGI programmers...can you actually, basically write working code
> that without having to rely on your notes, code snippets, manuals,
> etc? Or is that just silly? Do almost ALL hardcore
> designers/programmers use some sort of 'help' when working on
> projects?

i can write working HTML and CSS without looking at the specs at
all... i still validate it, however...

i can write JS and ASP pretty well from memory, but rely on an
extensive code library i've amassed...

i can SQL queries that work, but that you'd never want in a
production environment... i can do the same with PHP, perl,
ActionScript, Lingo, and a dozen other languages...

IOW, if i didn't use a code library all the time, i'd be doing myself a
disservice... with HTML and CSS, i still use a code library since it's
nice to have a standard block of code to go in every
<head></head> that you don't have to retype (saves lotsa time)...

ultimately, you can never be expected to remember all these
languages and all they do all at once... you'll pick up the ones you
use the most pretty damn well, and the rest will be little forays here
and there that build up your understanding and code library...

--
Read the evolt.org case study
Usability: The Site Speaks for Itself
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151035/evoltorg02-20
ISBN: 1904151035

[thelist] OT - do programmers/designers know *everything*?

[thelist] OT - do programmers/designers know everything?