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>Never needed a data structure or algo that wasn't in the standard lib. Either your definition of algorithm is absurdly narrow, or you are working on some very

>Never needed a data structure or algo that wasn't in the standard lib. Either your definition of algorithm is absurdly narrow, or you are working on some very simplistic problems.

tootie 8y ago
Little bit of both. But essentially the problems are getting simpler. All sorts of problems that used to occupy a lot of my time early in my career are now effectively "solved" and just need a library or SaaS to plug and play. CMS, e-comm, analytics, CRM are all pretty push-button at this point. Maybe some API calls to be made. I remember once needing 3 people spending a month trying to get SSL certs installed on a load balancer. Now it's a checkbox.
- learc83 8y ago
  >But essentially the problems are getting simpler. The same could be said about you and someone who started their career in the late 60s. You probably didn't have to write your own OS. If you were building software that businesses expected in the 60s in the 80s, then your job in the 80s would have been a lot simpler than it was in the 60s. And If you are building the software now that businesses expected 20 years ago, then yes your job is much simpler. That's generally not how it works though. As capabilities increase, expectations increase, and many times expectations increase even faster than capabilities.
  - tootie 8y ago
    Well, yeah, but my point is basically that work is being pushed up the stack, hence all the energy going into UI development. The biggest challenge for backend devs is usually API Design.
    - learc83 8y ago
      The biggest growth in expectations I've seen are in UI, Analytics, and Security/Data protection. 2 of those are primarily backend, and they aren't something you can just plug in unless you are solving very trivial problems. And pulling requirements out of business people who don't really know what they want, then turning them into sensible data models that can produce reliable and actionable business intelligence is still where I spend most of my time.

>Never needed a data structure or algo that wasn't in the standard lib. Either your definition of algorithm is absurdly narrow, or you are working on some very simplistic problems.

tootie 8y ago

Little bit of both. But essentially the problems are getting simpler. All sorts of problems that used to occupy a lot of my time early in my career are now effectively "solved" and just need a library or SaaS to plug and play. CMS, e-comm, analytics, CRM are all pretty push-button at this point. Maybe some API calls to be made. I remember once needing 3 people spending a month trying to get SSL certs installed on a load balancer. Now it's a checkbox.

learc83 8y ago
>But essentially the problems are getting simpler. The same could be said about you and someone who started their career in the late 60s. You probably didn't have to write your own OS. If you were building software that businesses expected in the 60s in the 80s, then your job in the 80s would have been a lot simpler than it was in the 60s. And If you are building the software now that businesses expected 20 years ago, then yes your job is much simpler. That's generally not how it works though. As capabilities increase, expectations increase, and many times expectations increase even faster than capabilities.
- tootie 8y ago
  Well, yeah, but my point is basically that work is being pushed up the stack, hence all the energy going into UI development. The biggest challenge for backend devs is usually API Design.
  - learc83 8y ago
    The biggest growth in expectations I've seen are in UI, Analytics, and Security/Data protection. 2 of those are primarily backend, and they aren't something you can just plug in unless you are solving very trivial problems. And pulling requirements out of business people who don't really know what they want, then turning them into sensible data models that can produce reliable and actionable business intelligence is still where I spend most of my time.