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It's kind of crazy to think the closest thing to a systems programming language a graduated software engineer knows is freaking python. Imagine never having us

It's kind of crazy to think the closest thing to a systems programming language a graduated software engineer knows is freaking python. Imagine never having used a compiler. Don't get me wrong, people get stuff done with Python and JavaScript, but it's a crazy time we live in.

joshstrange 2y ago
This argument falls apart for me personally. I'm sure we could go back a decade or two and find someone saying something like: It’s quite alarming to think that the most advanced language many new software engineers are familiar with is merely C or C++. Imagine graduating without ever having programmed in assembly. It’s not that C or C++ aren’t capable languages, but we’re definitely in a strange era when the deeper understanding of machine interaction through lower-level programming is becoming a rarity.
- KeplerBoy 2y ago
  I don't think that's quite the same, but in general I agree with that sentiment, even though you weren't serious about it. Folks should know their basic C/C++ just like they should know enough x86 to make sense of what godbolt.org tells them. But oh, well, that's probably a lonely hill to die on. Having a rough idea of all these levels of abstraction work and interact is something I profit a lot in my line of work, but that's just a small niche and I get that (profiling and optimizing scientific, signal processing routines).
  - tmtvl 2y ago
    I consider assembly to be a basic skill like arithmetic. Most of us have a calculator on hand 24/7, but being able to look at a clock and say 'I've got 12 minutes' is useful.
snickerbockers 2y ago
I had to take an "operating systems" class in Java 15 years ago, luckily i already knew enough about C and assembly to know it's a waste of time. the professor thought it was more important to teach "fundamentals" than low-level programming. i got a c in that class (the grade not the language) because i didn't know java and kept having difficulties with the way it forces you to shoehorn OOP into everything.

joshstrange 2y ago

This argument falls apart for me personally. I'm sure we could go back a decade or two and find someone saying something like: It’s quite alarming to think that the most advanced language many new software engineers are familiar with is merely C or C++. Imagine graduating without ever having programmed in assembly. It’s not that C or C++ aren’t capable languages, but we’re definitely in a strange era when the deeper understanding of machine interaction through lower-level programming is becoming a rarity.

KeplerBoy 2y ago
I don't think that's quite the same, but in general I agree with that sentiment, even though you weren't serious about it. Folks should know their basic C/C++ just like they should know enough x86 to make sense of what godbolt.org tells them. But oh, well, that's probably a lonely hill to die on. Having a rough idea of all these levels of abstraction work and interact is something I profit a lot in my line of work, but that's just a small niche and I get that (profiling and optimizing scientific, signal processing routines).
- tmtvl 2y ago
  I consider assembly to be a basic skill like arithmetic. Most of us have a calculator on hand 24/7, but being able to look at a clock and say 'I've got 12 minutes' is useful.

snickerbockers 2y ago

I had to take an "operating systems" class in Java 15 years ago, luckily i already knew enough about C and assembly to know it's a waste of time. the professor thought it was more important to teach "fundamentals" than low-level programming. i got a c in that class (the grade not the language) because i didn't know java and kept having difficulties with the way it forces you to shoehorn OOP into everything.