Due to my recent discussion on submitting technical articles more effectively http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=380333 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38

Due to my recent discussion on submitting technical articles more effectively http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=380333 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=380333 I'll provide a little commentary: The general gist is that programming, as a respected engineering discipline, is in jeopardy today due to the attitude claiming good programmers eschew rigorous planning and development. In his opinion, the open source movement has further improvished the engineering aspect of programming with its "release early, release often" motto, as too the ad hoc nature of extreme programming. Additionally, the lack of process in programming also means there is a lack of apprenticeship, which is integral to the other areas of engineering. Finally, he pulls out the standard complaint that the newer programming language abstract away alot of important detail, and programmers are now less effective due to their ignorance. In turn, the author recommends a set of standard practices he feels will improve the lazy programmer, of which I've listed the items that seem to summarize the others: 1. Know what you are doing all the time This consists of keeping track of goals and milestones and intentionally working towards them at all times 2. Write an example and design the whole solution upfront This helps clarify the final goal in the programmers mind. 3. Test your own code, and test what you already know works This ensures the programmer has a solid understanding of their work, and that they have a baseline to test against. 4. Be methodical Keep notes, and use the scientific method to make predictions about program behavior that is not understood.