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I think it's harder now than it used to be. When I started programming, any error message you saw would almost certainly originate from the beige box on the des
by rjknight 5y ago
I think it's harder now than it used to be. When I started programming, any error message you saw would almost certainly originate from the beige box on the desk in front of you, which had only a single CPU core and often didn't really do multi-tasking. Over time, our computers, operating systems, applications and networks have become vastly more complex, with the effect that you can't easily build an intuition about which component is responsible for a failure and why.
Personally, I love debugging things. I have a very good "theory of mind" for dealing with computer failures, and figuring out why the computer isn't doing what I might naively expect it to do is a lot of fun. However, it's only fun because I've been able to stay on top of the curve as the systems I work with have become more complex. Starting from zero today sounds a lot more daunting.
- mtVessel 5y agoTrue, the stacks are more complex today, but the resources are greater. Back in the days when the error was in the beige box, if the books/CDs/DVDs you had on your shelf didn't address the exact problem, you had to roll up your sleeves or you were SOL. Nowadays, research skills are more important, but I see a lot of devs who just don't have them. Can't find the answer on the first page of your first (poorly formed) search? Run get the senior dev. To me it reads like incuriousity and laziness, or lack of training. I don't mind doing some coaching, but if you're a dev, and you can't even be bothered to read the error message, what does that say about your effectiveness? /rant
- jimbokun 5y agoIt gets a lot less fun when there's a customer visible outage and you need to know why things are failing NOW because dollars are on the line.