Quick poll
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I would engineer software for myself for free, obviously. I would not work for others unless I got paid...unlesssssss, it was pro bono job for a good cause.
Slacker007 wrote:
I would engineer software for myself
But why? What would you need software for?
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Yep, that's me.
What makes your statement so pompous is that I work in what is probably the most complex software engineering environment, the Windows Kernel, and have done for 20 years. Given the products I have worked on there is a very high chance you have used my drivers.
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I saw someone say a few months back they would program computer whether they got paid or not. This got me thinking, how many IT professionals actually would, so quick poll: Who would engineer software if they didnt get paid for it, and my opener is, no freaking way! :)
I do it on the side already for my own personal enjoyment already so in a way I guess I would continue. However if my work was for another person to profit then I would expect a piece of that return.
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I've done it for several year. I do it for the love of programming and because I can't find the same level of frustration doing anything else.
Someone's therapist knows all about you!
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Mike Hankey wrote:
I can't find the same level of frustration doing anything else.
So, I guess you never took up golf... :laugh:
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
After watching my son play golf for many years I decided I couldn't afford it.
Someone's therapist knows all about you!
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I saw someone say a few months back they would program computer whether they got paid or not. This got me thinking, how many IT professionals actually would, so quick poll: Who would engineer software if they didnt get paid for it, and my opener is, no freaking way! :)
I've created a few simple websites for friends but that's it - gives me a chance to play with anything new.
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I've created a few simple websites for friends but that's it - gives me a chance to play with anything new.
So its you me and V on one side and the rest of CP on the other. I didnt realise THAT many of them were nerds. I thought there might be some engineers among them. :)
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What makes your statement so pompous is that I work in what is probably the most complex software engineering environment, the Windows Kernel, and have done for 20 years. Given the products I have worked on there is a very high chance you have used my drivers.
I certainly wouldn't expect you to do that for fun and relaxation, just as I don't do the kind of stuff I'm currently being paid to do (SSIS X| ) for myself. At home, I do what I want to do in whatever way I want.
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Slacker007 wrote:
I would engineer software for myself
But why? What would you need software for?
Do you seriously not have any interests that you might apply your programming skills to? Among the many things I've developed for myself over the years are: A gas mileage tracking system. A stereo photography image matcher-upper. An MP3 player file randomizer/selector/updater. A labyrinth designer. A simple Code Management System. Various games and puzzle solvers. I have even given away copies of my implementation of Cosmic Wimpout -- for free! And, of course, various responses to CP's Weekly Coding Challenges.
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So its you me and V on one side and the rest of CP on the other. I didnt realise THAT many of them were nerds. I thought there might be some engineers among them. :)
I am certainly not an engineer. You are the only engineer on CP. Most of the others have delusions of grandeur.
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I am certainly not an engineer. You are the only engineer on CP. Most of the others have delusions of grandeur.
I was in mech-aero engineering before switching to software, it pays more, is a better career, and you can travel with it, but I am no nerd. IN fact I still prefer mech-aero as a hobby, and always will. But the discipline of true engineering when carried over to software brings a big benefit IMO.
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I was in mech-aero engineering before switching to software, it pays more, is a better career, and you can travel with it, but I am no nerd. IN fact I still prefer mech-aero as a hobby, and always will. But the discipline of true engineering when carried over to software brings a big benefit IMO.
Munchies_Matt wrote:
the discipline of true engineering
Right, that's what most developers are lacking, but most software doesn't require it either -- certainly not the kind of stuff I work on. I would never claim to have it.
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Munchies_Matt wrote:
the discipline of true engineering
Right, that's what most developers are lacking, but most software doesn't require it either -- certainly not the kind of stuff I work on. I would never claim to have it.
Software is unusual, you are not dealing with some fact of nature (physics, such as mass, shear strength etc) but with what some nerd at a desk dreamed up in the 80s (the Windows OS in my case) so it doesnt require as much knowledge and yet the sheer complexity of software, its invisibility, its mutability, far exceeds that of ordinary engineering. But the hard nosed pragmatic approach from ordinary engineering still works with software IMO.
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Software is unusual, you are not dealing with some fact of nature (physics, such as mass, shear strength etc) but with what some nerd at a desk dreamed up in the 80s (the Windows OS in my case) so it doesnt require as much knowledge and yet the sheer complexity of software, its invisibility, its mutability, far exceeds that of ordinary engineering. But the hard nosed pragmatic approach from ordinary engineering still works with software IMO.
Yes, yet much software (Web apps in particular) benefit from an iterative/evolutionary approach like Agile. Very few developers are working on software that must be absolutely correct the first time out the door. It's sad that Operating Systems no longer fall into this category.
