Monday, February 16, 2009 9:15 AM
Once in a while everyone seems to come across one of them. One of the really good developers. They seem to dream in code and while they are typing away on their keyboards, they hardly seem to think - they just now!
But how did they got to this point?
It's hard to say. Partly it is a talent, partly it is only learned. Depending on how you came into IT and specifically software development, you most probably did learn at one point in time, that software development purely is an engineering discipline. That, of course, is true to a certain extent, but this doesn't capture it all.
Software development has to follow certain rules and there are many aids to support and guide you. Although, you won't find a given solution to all of your problems in a book. Software IS an engineering practice but it should be seen a craftsmanship, like the builders of an old cathedral is seen as a craftsman. And if you look at the cathedrals all over Europe you'd notice that the builders where indeed engineers AND craftsman!
How you get there is another topic. One of the first things you should take to heart to get better:
Care about your craft!