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> The first step in interfacing with a native library is to understand how it was originally intended to work. But reading code is hard, it's easier to project

> The first step in interfacing with a native library is to understand how it was originally intended to work. But reading code is hard, it's easier to project your sense of confusion onto your predecessor than own it yourself, and once you rewrite the code in Rust and start to understand the true complexity that the previous code had to work around, you'll leave for another job (this time with Rust on your resume).

gpderetta 7y ago
This is a very negative comment. Except I have seen it happen many times.
Franciscouzo 7y ago
It's called resume driven development, and the reason it's done is because it helps those who do it get jobs
- shantly 7y ago
  As long as companies keep expecting experience in very specific technologies (only at work—400 hours on a hobby codebase don't count for as much as 40 hours writing something at a job for determining competence in a language or framework or whatever, it seems) this will keep happening. It's really, really dumb, but there's little other choice for folks who want to keep their skills (=the names of tools & languages they've used to write something for pay) up to date (=trendy high-paying buzzword compliant). Doubly true if you're not all-in on one of the major Bigcorp silos (Java, C#).
  - royjacobs 7y ago
    At a previous job I worked with someone who didn't see a buzzword they didn't like. Since nobody was stopping them, they designed an incredibly convoluted system using all the latest tech. In the end we replaced it with a JVM server and a Postgres database. I occasionally check their LinkedIn and they're still spending 12-15 months every time at companies, being CTO or Big Data Strategist or whatever.
    - aswanson 7y ago
      Ambition and incompetence. Nice combo.
      - mannykannot 7y ago
        The Dunning-Kruger career path: persuade the people hiring to think that you are more competent than you are.
  - unlinked_dll 7y ago
    anecdata but I've only had terrible experiences with companies looking for specific technologies (e.g. a job listing of "$LANGUAGE Developer"). Mostly good experiences when it's a specialist gig that happens to require a specific technology. Like some parts of a stack aren't interchangeable and aren't easy to pick up overnight.
- aswanson 7y ago
  RDD. That is effing hilarious.
- camdenreslink 7y ago
  Almost nobody is hiring rust devs right now.
  - chc 7y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio of competent Rust developers to Rust jobs were worse than 40:1.
xwolfi 7y ago
My life as an immigrant developer, therefore cheaper, hired to fix the shit of the elite quitters :D Sometime I catch them a few weeks before they quit and I get to ask why they developed a low level http server in java interpreting controller code written in javascript that nobody understand but them. "It's much more efficient than using php or nodejs or higher level java" "you benchmarked ?" "I have to go do more knowledge transfer, bye"... I dont know what I'd do if they were allowed by the company to do Go or Rust :D Guess I'd redo their wheel reinvention in the majority language of the team... increasing the overall constant migration I see again and again...
- skrebbel 7y ago
  I really like the phrase "elite quitters". I wonder if, as a stereotype, it's unique to the software industry.
  - chongli 7y ago
    No, it also happens in professional sports. Star players leave the teams that drafted them to look for better opportunities. It seems to be an inevitability that small market teams draft and develop star players who then quit on the fans for a big contract or a chance to play with other stars in the big city.
    - tyri_kai_psomi 7y ago
      Don't forget the key ingredient in this recipe: they show a small burst of greatness or give a couple shining glimmers of hope and then capitalize on that small sample size.
      - fjp 7y ago
        I mean the incentives are the cause. If you could rewarded with an incredible salary for sticking at the same company for 10 years and making a great, reliable platform using "boring technologies" then more people would probably do it. Instead to raise your salary you gotta jump jobs every 2 years

gpderetta 7y ago

This is a very negative comment. Except I have seen it happen many times.

Franciscouzo 7y ago

It's called resume driven development, and the reason it's done is because it helps those who do it get jobs

shantly 7y ago
As long as companies keep expecting experience in very specific technologies (only at work—400 hours on a hobby codebase don't count for as much as 40 hours writing something at a job for determining competence in a language or framework or whatever, it seems) this will keep happening. It's really, really dumb, but there's little other choice for folks who want to keep their skills (=the names of tools & languages they've used to write something for pay) up to date (=trendy high-paying buzzword compliant). Doubly true if you're not all-in on one of the major Bigcorp silos (Java, C#).
- royjacobs 7y ago
  At a previous job I worked with someone who didn't see a buzzword they didn't like. Since nobody was stopping them, they designed an incredibly convoluted system using all the latest tech. In the end we replaced it with a JVM server and a Postgres database. I occasionally check their LinkedIn and they're still spending 12-15 months every time at companies, being CTO or Big Data Strategist or whatever.
  - aswanson 7y ago
    Ambition and incompetence. Nice combo.
    - mannykannot 7y ago
      The Dunning-Kruger career path: persuade the people hiring to think that you are more competent than you are.
- unlinked_dll 7y ago
  anecdata but I've only had terrible experiences with companies looking for specific technologies (e.g. a job listing of "$LANGUAGE Developer"). Mostly good experiences when it's a specialist gig that happens to require a specific technology. Like some parts of a stack aren't interchangeable and aren't easy to pick up overnight.
aswanson 7y ago
RDD. That is effing hilarious.
camdenreslink 7y ago
Almost nobody is hiring rust devs right now.
- chc 7y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio of competent Rust developers to Rust jobs were worse than 40:1.

xwolfi 7y ago

My life as an immigrant developer, therefore cheaper, hired to fix the shit of the elite quitters :D Sometime I catch them a few weeks before they quit and I get to ask why they developed a low level http server in java interpreting controller code written in javascript that nobody understand but them. "It's much more efficient than using php or nodejs or higher level java" "you benchmarked ?" "I have to go do more knowledge transfer, bye"... I dont know what I'd do if they were allowed by the company to do Go or Rust :D Guess I'd redo their wheel reinvention in the majority language of the team... increasing the overall constant migration I see again and again...

skrebbel 7y ago
I really like the phrase "elite quitters". I wonder if, as a stereotype, it's unique to the software industry.
- chongli 7y ago
  No, it also happens in professional sports. Star players leave the teams that drafted them to look for better opportunities. It seems to be an inevitability that small market teams draft and develop star players who then quit on the fans for a big contract or a chance to play with other stars in the big city.
  - tyri_kai_psomi 7y ago
    Don't forget the key ingredient in this recipe: they show a small burst of greatness or give a couple shining glimmers of hope and then capitalize on that small sample size.
    - fjp 7y ago
      I mean the incentives are the cause. If you could rewarded with an incredible salary for sticking at the same company for 10 years and making a great, reliable platform using "boring technologies" then more people would probably do it. Instead to raise your salary you gotta jump jobs every 2 years