> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Pinyan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Subject: Re: On Beginners' Mindsets, Part II
>
> On May 30, Peter Scott said:
>
> >*Curiosity* is an essential trait for the programmer. In all
> seriousness,
> >if you don't have a deep desire to find out how things work - in
> >particular, software - this may not be the field for you. Principally
> >because our tools are rarely so perfect at encapsulation that they
> >completely hide the underlying mechanism, therefore, it is necessary to
> >understand the underlying mechanism and to want to get at it.
>
> Curiosity without motivation is a bane, as I am sure those of us who have
> been sitting in IRC channels and on mailing lists, for the purposes of
> ANSWERING questions, are well aware. People that ask questions because
> they need the answer, not because they want to learn the answer, are not
> helpful programmers in the long run -- they know only what they've been
> spoonfed, and have trouble formulating code or applying algorithms
> themselves. They also have trouble explaining the code they cut and paste
> from Joe Coder's program.
>
While I couldn't agree more with both statements, I think it is the
unfortunate reality that, with the recent (last 2 years... ) boom and
subsequent bust of the Internet economy at large, there is a growing
majority of beginning programmers who will fall into the "grab and go"
mindset.
Now, let me assure recent posters to this list that I am in no way
targeting anyone in particular with that statement. Rather, I am speaking
from my own experience in the local job market. I certainly do not -- and
never WILL -- claim to be any kind of "expert" in Perl or any other
language. As Peter pointed out, I am always learning so, in that regard, I
don't think there ARE any Perl "experts" -- just someone who has learned
more about something you have not. :)
And that brings me back around to my point. With the recent need for Perl
hackers (among other related disciplines... ), a budding programmer didn't
need to be an "expert" to land a high-paying, high-profile web development
job. The demand far exceeded the supply. So, suddenly, you have relatively
inexperienced beginners needing to produce results within a start-up's time
frame. So instead of seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge, you have
an inordinate number of "greenhorns" looking for just enough information to
get the job done.
I even saw evidence of this attitude in the sudden addition of
Internet-related IT degrees at local colleges. Here was this sudden demand
for "trained IT professionals," so schools started putting together
curricula willy-nilly to fill that demand. I knew of one student, a junior
in high school, who became Cisco Certified as part of an Advanced Placement
IT curriculum a year ago. That's great for her -- but based on what she
told me about the "class" she was taking, they were studying from material
designed to pass the exam, not material covering the core technologies
involved. I personally worked 1.5 years for a local consulting firm whose
clients are now having to go back and hire other consultants to come in and
fix the mess left behind by the previous consultants. Again, because those
original consultants lacked enough in depth knowledge to fully realize the
entirety of the project and all the development nuances necessary.
Other than to vent my own frustrations :), my point is this. Because of
the influx of "new blood" there are quite a few beginning programmers who
have not had the opportunity to REALLY learn the language they were hired to
code in. And, because of the subsequent economic curve ball thrown to the
IT industry at large, many of those budding JAPH's have a decision -- stay
in the game or leave. Rather than complain about those who just "ask
questions because they need the answer, not because they want to learn the
answer," we as seasoned Perl programmers have the opportunity to pass on our
love and enthusiasm for Perl and programming in general to those willing to
embrace it.
I've given my share of one-liner answers, but based on this particular
thread, I personally am going to endeavor to inform others, as much as I am
able, rather than just "answer questions".
As Peter said... FWIW... :)
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