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Java seems like a good choice for the IRS. There are legions and legions of programmers well versed in Java, since its among the most commonly used programming

Java seems like a good choice for the IRS. There are legions and legions of programmers well versed in Java, since its among the most commonly used programming languages to introduce programming at universities. This means the IRS should be able to focus its hiring on "People who know tax law and can use Java" instead of "Java experts that know enough tax law to be dangerous". Its not the flashiest language, but I think its the right choice for them.

ryanmarsh 9y ago
Its not the flashiest language so I think its the right choice for them. FTFY
bpicolo 9y ago
Seems unlikely that they can hire many cross functional tax-law-programmers. You integrate teams so there are experts on both.
- TheSoftwareGuy 9y ago
  Maybe, but my line of thinking is that it could be easier and better to teach tax law specialists a little bit of Java, than the other way around
warrenm 9y ago
What makes you think the developers have to "know tax law"? It might be a peripheral plus for an applicant, but it's more important they are a competent programmer. "Tax law" changes constantly - you truly cannot reasonably expect a developer to "know tax law" and be a competent programmer.
- chii 9y ago
  by "know tax law", I'd assume they mean the same thing as know react - that is, they have experience doing it previously.
- TheCoelacanth 9y ago
  "Know tax law" in the context of a software developer I would interpret as understanding the core concepts and terminology involved in tax law, not knowing all the intricacies involved in every single piece of tax law. They need to be able to understand the specific pieces of tax law that they are working on with the help of an actual expert without too much friction; they don't have to be actual experts on tax law.
cfstras 9y ago
I don’t know how much validation the code does, but every single number in your tax forms is related to another by some statement in the law, and these change constantly. Validating them means codifying every single rule. Germany figured this out a while ago and built a rule engine with GUI and small DSL where the lawyers can input tax rules to the database - meaning better code and you can emit for any platform. It’s called ElsterRules (Elster is the online tax filing program) and runs even in your browser... I wonder if there’s something similar in other countries.

ryanmarsh 9y ago

Its not the flashiest language so I think its the right choice for them. FTFY

bpicolo 9y ago

Seems unlikely that they can hire many cross functional tax-law-programmers. You integrate teams so there are experts on both.

TheSoftwareGuy 9y ago
Maybe, but my line of thinking is that it could be easier and better to teach tax law specialists a little bit of Java, than the other way around

warrenm 9y ago

What makes you think the developers have to "know tax law"? It might be a peripheral plus for an applicant, but it's more important they are a competent programmer. "Tax law" changes constantly - you truly cannot reasonably expect a developer to "know tax law" and be a competent programmer.

chii 9y ago
by "know tax law", I'd assume they mean the same thing as know react - that is, they have experience doing it previously.
TheCoelacanth 9y ago
"Know tax law" in the context of a software developer I would interpret as understanding the core concepts and terminology involved in tax law, not knowing all the intricacies involved in every single piece of tax law. They need to be able to understand the specific pieces of tax law that they are working on with the help of an actual expert without too much friction; they don't have to be actual experts on tax law.

cfstras 9y ago

I don’t know how much validation the code does, but every single number in your tax forms is related to another by some statement in the law, and these change constantly. Validating them means codifying every single rule. Germany figured this out a while ago and built a rule engine with GUI and small DSL where the lawyers can input tax rules to the database - meaning better code and you can emit for any platform. It’s called ElsterRules (Elster is the online tax filing program) and runs even in your browser... I wonder if there’s something similar in other countries.