Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Qualities of a Good Programmer


Although anyone can learn to program (or just about anyone), I think that there are a few qualities that make people better programmers than others. Let's go over five of them.
  1. Memorization (syntax)
    This is probably the most obvious one. A person that can easily recall function names, syntax, etc. would have an easier time learning languages than a person who can't. This applies to all languages: programming, spoken, or others.
  2. Problem solving
    In my opinion, this aspect of programming is a lot more important than the first. It's really important that a programmer can solve problems on their own. If that fails, let's hope that the person has the next skill.
  3. Searching for the right things
    When you don't know how to fix your code, chances are that you head to Google (or another search engine). A good programmer should be able to scan the web to learn what they need to do to make their code work. If this still doesn't work, the next skill is their last chance.
  4. Asking the right questions
    This is the last resort for fixing a problem. If fixing it yourself and searching for help have both failed, you will probably ask someone else. You need to know how to ask the right questions, though. A question such as 'How do I fix this?' wouldn't generate as many responses as a specific one. You have to understand that other people aren't going to code for you – they are just going to give you small tips to fix what you have.
  5. Applying what you know
    Programmers shouldn't be robots. They should be able to apply what they know to create other systems. For example, let's look at a simple example on the web.
    If a programmer knows how to make a login system, they should be able to apply what they know to make a simple blog system. There's not a lot that is different between each system (only the logic).
These are my feelings. How do you feel? Do you think that you are a good programmer? What qualities do you have that makes you a good programmer? Please leave a comment! :)

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