[colug-432] Computer Programmer Productivity Ratio

[Jim Wildman]

As part of my work with Red Hat, I interact with the sys admins at many
companies.  I am no longer shocked at how many do not understand the
basic productivity enhancement tools available to them like

shell history 
screen
commands like watch
in place shell programming (basic for loops, etc)

It's not hard to be better than most when the bar is set so low.

On Sun, 20 Jul 2014, Jon Miller wrote:

>
> jep200404 at columbus.rr.com writes:
>
>> A recent talk with someone revealed that they were incredulous
>> about there being an order of magnitude difference in
>> productivity between good and mediocre programmers.
>>
>> A simple web search led to interesting content about the issue.
>> After sending it privately, I realized it deserved broader
>> exposure and discussion.
>>
>>     https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=10%3A1+productivity+ratio+computer+programmers
>>
>> How do you improve your ability?
>
> Practice, practice, practice. As they say, "Practice makes perfect", right?
>
> I was going to make a comment about using Emacs and while admittedly it would
> have been just a joke, there is something to be said about improving your
> productivity with your editor (vim friends included). And then generalizing
> that thought beyond just your editor to algorithms, coding styles, experience
> of common pitfalls, etc, etc... it all boils down to spending time in your
> craft and simply getting better at it.
>
> But if you *really* want to become an expert in a field, it requires
> deliberate, focused practice. This is what differentiates the top athletes
> from others that merely "put in the hours" in practice. Forget now where I
> saw that but it resonated with me. (Here is one example post[1] but easy
> enough to Google for others)
>
> So, I'll rephrase my quipped answer to be: Deliberate Practice
>
> [1]: http://expertenough.com/1423/deliberate-practice
>
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Wildman, CISSP, RHCE       jim at rossberry.com http://www.rossberry.net
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best
state, is a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Thomas Paine