On: Hopefully more controversial programming opinions

[npguy]

"You shouldn't be allowed to write a library for use by other people until you have ten years of programming under your belt. If you think you know better and ignore this rule, then one day you will come to realize the mental suffering that you have inflicted upon others, and you will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of your life."

stunning.

[notimetorelax → npguy]

I'm actually currently in process of writing a small library, but I have only 6 years of experience. I'm frightened.

[lmm → notimetorelax]

Don't be. That idea is bollocks. Experience has approximately zero correlation with ability.

(how's that for controversial?)

[digitalWestie → lmm]

Exactly. Does anybody really sit and write a libraries solo these days? There's an omission of combined experience here. 2 others like yourself would be 18 years of experience.

(I understand the combined experience thing isn't perfect logic but that's not really my point.)

[colomon → digitalWestie]

Errr... I write libraries solo. Professionally. More or less full time.

[alexfoo → lmm]

So true. I've seen people who have way more than the fabled "10,000 hours" of software development experience them that continue to push out truly woeful code.

[bstpierre → alexfoo]

The thing those people are missing is 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Showing up is not enough.

I'd rather work with someone who has five years of experience than someone with one year of experience repeated twenty times.

[Deestan → notimetorelax]

Don't be intimidated. The only way to learn is to do.

Just keep in mind that a library takes a surprising amount of time to make "good enough".

The most frequent sin in library design is to knock something up in a weekend, check that it sorta works for you, and then consider it done.

[notimetorelax → Deestan]

Thanks! I'm not really intimidated, I thought it was a bit comical that anything less then 10 years is not enough.

On the "good enough" aspect the least I try to do is to unit test everything I publish.