Ask HN: What are common things you see in a bad developer?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14213455

by crush_xc • 9 years ago

5 6 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

When you're working with a developer what do you find most bad developers do that good ones tend to avoid?

Thanks!

enkiv2• 9 years ago

If you don't have ten years of experience with at least five very-distinct languages (i.e., C & C++ only count once, & Java and C# only count once), you're not really a developer yet -- just an apprentice.

Sorry to say, there's no way to cut the gordian knot there: you're going to have to wait until you gain the necessary experience before you're a benefit rather than a liability.

If it's any consolation, most people with entry level / junior software engineer jobs are in the same boat, & there are whole companies that are essentially doomed because of a monoculture of people who haven't yet reached minimum competence. If you're surrounded by peers that know twelve languages & have been working as a dev for twenty years, then you're in a much better place than most of your cohort.

humbleMouse• 9 years ago

I respectfully disagree with everything you said here. Firstly, you are speaking in vast generalizations about what being a "developer" means. You don't need 10 years of experience with 5 distinct languages to be effective or not a liability. That's bullshit.

I am curious - what kind of development are you referring to here? What kind of things do you think people need 10 years of experience with multiple languages to be effective at?

OP - don't listen to this guy. Focus on writing clean, simple, non-abstract code that reads like a book. Make sure your code reads well and is written with performance taken into consideration and you'll be fine.

To answer the original question - common things I have seen from bad developers are the following:

1) Over complicating/engineering solutions to simple problems. 2) Not using readily available libraries that solve 99% of the problems you'll run into. 3) Naming methods and variables abstract things that don't accurately explain what they're for. 4) Not asking co-workers for help/domain knowledge before they start coding.

crush_xc• 9 years ago

In defense of the person you replied to, I had the original question framed around my situation more but edited it to be more generic. Thank you for the information!

chrisbennet• 9 years ago

I'm also going to respectfully disagree. While exposure to a few different languages is not a negative, it also doesn't equal experience. Everyone coming coming out of school has a few languages on their resume'. IMO, experience is not the tools (languages) used - experience is the problems solved.

I can't remember working with any bad developers but the qualities of the good developers I've worked with included: humility, a desire to learn and most importantly, a concern for the next guy who has to work with the code.

smt88• 9 years ago

- Specialization (as someone said) because they haven't learned how to learn. Being able to learn a new stack, library, or language is really important.

- Pre-mature optimization and/or perfectionism

QuinnyPig• 9 years ago

Treats other people like crap. The better someone is, generally the kinder they are to other folks. Crap developers seem to have an edge to them- it's as if they're afraid they're going to be found out as not being as skilled as they portray themselves as, so they try to avoid that by demeaning others.

Ask HN: What are common things you see in a bad developer?

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