I have found myself conflicted recently with this very question. My current role deals more with strategy and architecture and less hands-on code. When I took the job, I felt like I was sick of coding. Now I'm missing it a bit and wanting to go back. I feel now that this is likely due to the bureaucracy present in my environment and the fact that I can design an architecture but getting it going is difficult and slow. These frustrations make me long for simply sitting down at a computer and typing code. I feel code gives you immediate feedback and that endorphin rush of getting something to work. Working at a higher level is more abstract and at times difficult to feel that you actually accomplished something.

VB.NET is the language that really got me interested in programming in the first place. I took a Java class and by the end of it I didn't really enjoy it that much and started to think that programming was not for me. Then I took a VB.NET course and everything changed. Programming was fun. I built good stuff with VB and was able to pick it up quickly. By the end of that class, I was in love with programming. Now I program mostly in C# and I actually prefer it over VB after having used both for a while. Regardless, VB is a real language that you can do anything you want in. Anyone saying otherwise is either clueless or just a jerk. There has been great stuff built with VB, for example The Ocean Framework[^]. Don't feel ashamed to enjoy VB.

I absolutely love C# and am not afraid to say it publicly. There are some Microsoft haters at my job (Apple fanboys) but I feel that at least in the development space, Microsoft is far ahead of many others. I think C# is 10x better than Java in many ways. I love its functional style (lambas, etc) and I think that LINQ is one of the greatest inventions in programming today. Also, the CLR is great and makes it so easy to use different languages in one application. For instance, using F# for the back end of a desktop app and C# for the front end works just fine. C# is definitely my favorite language. Also, no IDE can touch Visual Studio, I just wish it didn't cost so much.

I can definitely see that. To me, it seems incomprehensible to program using a tool or programming on a platform without understand what it does and how it does it. I am a .NET programmer so I took the time to understand the CLR. If I started working with Java, I would work to understand the JVM. I guess some are just in it for the paycheck. I do it because it genuinely interests me and I have enough professional pride to make sure what I make isn't a mess for the next person and that I really know what I am doing.

Some on here seem to be a little bitter about the changes. I think it is only a natural progression. I resent the term code monkey being used to refer to current programmers (of which I am one) because I take great pride in the work that I do and I do work hard to understand how it works. Why should the young guys get punished or get disrespected just because we weren't alive in the 50's to create the stuff we use now? I believe it was Isaac Newton that said "I stand on the shoulders of giants." That is how I feel. I use technologies like .NET because of the great work that the "giants" that came before me did. Not everyone gets a chance to build a computer from scratch or to create an OS or programming language. I have worked hard to develop a deep understanding of how the CLR works (including memory management) and I have even taught myself some x86 assembly just so I understand how computers work. That does not make me a "code monkey." I simply use the tools afforded me in order to create value for the business, which by the way is why they pay me. There are those that don't care about the craft (and those make me just as angry) but that does not mean that every programmer from this generation (I am 26 yrs. old)is a "code Monkey."

OOP is still dominant but functional is the best outside of it. I have started looking into functional programming with F# and it's pretty awesome. Nice functional features like pattern matching and immutable data structures make for elegant, readable, and easy-to-understand code. Also, some problems are solved with functional languages in a much more succinct and elegant way than in OOP. Like what was said before, functional is great for algorithmic heavy problems (academia, intense mathematical applications, etc.). OOP still probably makes sense for the typical business application.

There is no such thing as a program that no one will see. At the very least, you will see it. In six months you will have to make a change and then you will look at it and say "Who wrote this piece of crap?" Then you will remember that it was you.

I hate this code too. Maybe in C you can do this but in C# it is a travesty. What I do is create self-documenting booleans so that you write code like this:

if (DoorIsOpen)
{
// Do Something
}
else
{
// Do Something else
}

I feel that this eliminates the need for any of the crap above. It is true that the compiler doesn't care but just remember the the point of code is so humans can understand it. If we only cared about the computer understanding it, we would all be typing 1s and 0s. Write code so that those who come after you can read it without being distracted by how horrible it is.

"I don't believe it." "That is why you fail." -- Empire Strikes Back Shameless blog plug - www.geekswithblogs.net/jboyer

My first .NET experience was using VB.NET in a programming class in school. I had already taken a Java class and frankly didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Then I found VB.NET and that is what really got me into programming. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I started using C# exclusively at my current job along with .NET 4.0. I think C# is one of the best languages out there (maybe even the best OOP language, but that is a debate for another day). The .NET framework is really nice and Microsoft over the last few years has made some impressive changes to move it along. Can't wait to get my hands on Roslyn.

Personally, I really like ASP.NET MVC3. I think Microsoft is doing some cool stuff and finally catching up to the open source community.

I'm still a newbie at programming but these are the languages I have written or at least attempted to learn: 1. C# (currently my day-to-day language) 2. VB 3. Java (been awhile, a bit rusty but I can still read it and comprehend it fine) 4. Javascript 5. x86 Assembly 6. Ruby (currently learning now, just picked up the pick ax book) 7. F# (just started learning) I've dabbled in C and C++ but haven't really written any meaningful programs in them.