[colug-432] Computer Programmer Productivity Ratio

[Paul Dubuc]

Rick Troth wrote:

> The need for productivity is huge. The gap in competence is widening. But I
> have been on the other side of the glass. Awkward when you're graded on things
> you've never learned (for legit reasons). Painful when you're expected to be
> proficient at things you're not skilled in (and presumably weren't hired for).
> See other email.
>
> We gotta gently bring these people Jim speaks of into the fold. Tricky. They
> don't know what they don't know.
>
> -- R; <><

Well said.  I've been around *nix for over 35 years; mostly doing applications 
programming, but there were times when we developers had to be (or GOT to be) 
their own sys admins.  I started writing C programs with the line editor (ed) 
and got pretty good at it before vi came around.  Some productivity habits are 
learned early, then you have periods of catching up with what's become new in 
the interim. Trying constantly to stay on the leading edge hampers 
productivity and can sometimes be a waste of time if the "next new thing" gets 
replaced by something better too soon.  I'm still learning things that others 
have known about for years.  I know there's a lot I still don't know because I 
haven't needed to know it to do my work.  Seems the days are gone when one 
person can know all of it well.  But I've always enjoyed working with *nix 
because it encourages intuitive, instead of rote, learning when you need to 
know how to do something with it that you've never done before.

PMD