2 ms·

Call me old fashioned, but as a developer if I did this I'd feel completely responsible if it didn't turn out well. Not just to the company paying me for my wor

by rapind 8y ago

Call me old fashioned, but as a developer if I did this I'd feel completely responsible if it didn't turn out well. Not just to the company paying me for my work (which apparently I feel free to do in whatever way I like?), but also to my coworkers who may have to manage more complexity because of my choices. Imagine if everyone on just a 5 person dev team did this... pretty risky, and potentially company sinking behaviour. I've experienced this ethic in others and it sucked (and the person basically shrugged and walked away). Obviously this could work out well, but I suspect most of the time it doesn't. I'm sure there are situations in which it's perfectly fine though. Like working on your own on a fixed quote greenfield project.

didibus 8y ago
Well, you would be responsible if it didn't turn out well. This obviously assumes that you can pull off a successful delivery. But I feel that goes for any project you take on. It's all about calculated risk. If you don't know the language at all, maybe don't do it on a task where you wouldn't have time to pivot back to a language you know if you didn't succeed. And if it added more complexity, well then it was the wrong technical choice that you made. Normally people switch to Clojure[Script] and Elixir in order to lower complexity and help manage it. If for some reason your project would get more complex with the switch, then don't. I mean, why would you want to switch to a language that you thought would make the code worse? Finally, I guess I see myself as employed by my company to specifically make such decisions and bring about positive change. Also, it's okay to say that you're bored, and you need to keep learning and challenge yourself to your employer, otherwise you'll get disinterested and might look elsewhere for work. And this is a way for you to learn and be motivated which costs nothing to them. I mean, that one you can only do if you're valued on your team, but if you are, and I think you'd be surprised more devs are then they think. It's an option. Now, there's ways to do this that work, and won't feel like a big jab at your employer and your co-workers, but it's not easy, and there are risks you have to be willing to take. I did it at my current job. It does take extra effort on my part. Give other devs good support and mentorship when they need to maintain that part. Plant the seed in their minds beforehand. Let them know you started doing it in a different language, and how it's going. And make sure the end product is good, and explain to the business that it was successful in less time, because of the language choice you made. Etc.

by rapind 8y ago

didibus 8y ago

Well, you would be responsible if it didn't turn out well. This obviously assumes that you can pull off a successful delivery. But I feel that goes for any project you take on. It's all about calculated risk. If you don't know the language at all, maybe don't do it on a task where you wouldn't have time to pivot back to a language you know if you didn't succeed. And if it added more complexity, well then it was the wrong technical choice that you made. Normally people switch to Clojure[Script] and Elixir in order to lower complexity and help manage it. If for some reason your project would get more complex with the switch, then don't. I mean, why would you want to switch to a language that you thought would make the code worse? Finally, I guess I see myself as employed by my company to specifically make such decisions and bring about positive change. Also, it's okay to say that you're bored, and you need to keep learning and challenge yourself to your employer, otherwise you'll get disinterested and might look elsewhere for work. And this is a way for you to learn and be motivated which costs nothing to them. I mean, that one you can only do if you're valued on your team, but if you are, and I think you'd be surprised more devs are then they think. It's an option. Now, there's ways to do this that work, and won't feel like a big jab at your employer and your co-workers, but it's not easy, and there are risks you have to be willing to take. I did it at my current job. It does take extra effort on my part. Give other devs good support and mentorship when they need to maintain that part. Plant the seed in their minds beforehand. Let them know you started doing it in a different language, and how it's going. And make sure the end product is good, and explain to the business that it was successful in less time, because of the language choice you made. Etc.