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I could not continue reading after the author started apologizing for the computer-science-heavy interview. Simply put, if computer science heavy questions bot

I could not continue reading after the author started apologizing for the computer-science-heavy interview. Simply put, if computer science heavy questions bother you, you are not an A player.

Zimahl 14y ago
Simply put, if computer science heavy questions bother you, you are not an A player. And herein lies the problem - the hubris of a SW Dev. So often the more artistic-leaning FE Dev is interviewed by the more pragmatic-leaning SW Dev. The software dev starts asking questions about recursion and collections and then labels the FE as a terrible developer. What you have to understand is that FE Devs don't care about that stuff. They aren't trained in it, they aren't interested in it. They have a completely different domain knowledge than the SW Dev and that's fine. It's not worse, it's just different. It doesn't make them a non-'A player'. They could very well be an A player in their particular domain. Watching a good FE Dev sling HTML/CSS/JS is a thing of beauty. It's not as easy as a lot of SW Devs think it is.
- fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
  It's not worse, it's just different. Many SW Devs are great at creative front end work. Many FE Devs used to be amazing back end Devs. Many Devs don't care what end or language they work in. Those are A players. If you've just never worked with a single particular technology, that's fine. If on the other hand you have never touched a lot of technologies.... probably not an A player. If you don't know anything about recursion, you are definitely not an A player. Frankly, I find saying that FE Devs shouldn't care about recursion insulting to FE Devs. Watching a good FE Dev sling HTML/CSS/JS is a thing of beauty. It's not as easy as a lot of SW Devs think it is. If they mess up fundamental computer science concepts while slinging JS around, it's gong to be painful rather than beautiful to watch. And I make no claim it is easy. JS in particular is lovely programing language liked by many SW Devs.
  - Zimahl 14y ago
    You're saying that just because someone doesn't have a specific set of domain knowledge they can't be an 'A player' in the domain they do have knowledge in. This simply isn't true. Using an analogy, even though Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan play golf, Michael Jordan can't be an 'A player' in basketball even though that's his domain, not golf. Are backend developers that have only a cursory domain knowledge of the front end not 'A players'?
    - xaa 14y ago
      A better analogy might be two different positions in basketball: shooting guard and center. To some degree, the two positions specialize: SG doesn't need to block shots (let's say), while the center does. However, everyone needs to dribble. A simple CS concept like recursion is analogous to dribbling. If you can't dribble, you're not playing basketball. If you don't know what recursion is, you're not a professional. Period.
    - fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
      Are backend developers that have only a cursory domain knowledge of the front end not 'A players'? I would say that if have no interest in what is literally half of the internet, it does not matter how good you are at the back end, you are not an A player. And computer science isn't just another domain. We're not talking php vs python here. This is about the fundamental nature of the work you do. Yes, even as a JS slinger, you still have the exact same computing fundamentals to deal with. It's not like basketball and golf, it's like basic athleticism. No you can't be an A basketball player if you don't have a minimum of athleticism. And the same is true for almost all sports. The fundamentals of computer science are to developers like cardio is to athletes.
      - Zimahl 14y ago
        I would say that if have no interest in what is literally half of the internet, it does not matter how good you are at the back end, you are not an A player. There are very few people who could have enough knowledge of all the domains of CS to be an 'A player' in your definition. This is about the fundamental nature of the work you do. Yes, even as a JS slinger, you still have the exact same computing fundamentals to deal with. Not sure if you are literally targeting me, but I am a backend developer who does a fair share of UI. I frankly despise JS but live with it nonetheless.

I could not continue reading after the author started apologizing for the computer-science-heavy interview. Simply put, if computer science heavy questions bother you, you are not an A player.

Zimahl 14y ago

Simply put, if computer science heavy questions bother you, you are not an A player. And herein lies the problem - the hubris of a SW Dev. So often the more artistic-leaning FE Dev is interviewed by the more pragmatic-leaning SW Dev. The software dev starts asking questions about recursion and collections and then labels the FE as a terrible developer. What you have to understand is that FE Devs don't care about that stuff. They aren't trained in it, they aren't interested in it. They have a completely different domain knowledge than the SW Dev and that's fine. It's not worse, it's just different. It doesn't make them a non-'A player'. They could very well be an A player in their particular domain. Watching a good FE Dev sling HTML/CSS/JS is a thing of beauty. It's not as easy as a lot of SW Devs think it is.

fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
It's not worse, it's just different. Many SW Devs are great at creative front end work. Many FE Devs used to be amazing back end Devs. Many Devs don't care what end or language they work in. Those are A players. If you've just never worked with a single particular technology, that's fine. If on the other hand you have never touched a lot of technologies.... probably not an A player. If you don't know anything about recursion, you are definitely not an A player. Frankly, I find saying that FE Devs shouldn't care about recursion insulting to FE Devs. Watching a good FE Dev sling HTML/CSS/JS is a thing of beauty. It's not as easy as a lot of SW Devs think it is. If they mess up fundamental computer science concepts while slinging JS around, it's gong to be painful rather than beautiful to watch. And I make no claim it is easy. JS in particular is lovely programing language liked by many SW Devs.
- Zimahl 14y ago
  You're saying that just because someone doesn't have a specific set of domain knowledge they can't be an 'A player' in the domain they do have knowledge in. This simply isn't true. Using an analogy, even though Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan play golf, Michael Jordan can't be an 'A player' in basketball even though that's his domain, not golf. Are backend developers that have only a cursory domain knowledge of the front end not 'A players'?
  - xaa 14y ago
    A better analogy might be two different positions in basketball: shooting guard and center. To some degree, the two positions specialize: SG doesn't need to block shots (let's say), while the center does. However, everyone needs to dribble. A simple CS concept like recursion is analogous to dribbling. If you can't dribble, you're not playing basketball. If you don't know what recursion is, you're not a professional. Period.
  - fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
    Are backend developers that have only a cursory domain knowledge of the front end not 'A players'? I would say that if have no interest in what is literally half of the internet, it does not matter how good you are at the back end, you are not an A player. And computer science isn't just another domain. We're not talking php vs python here. This is about the fundamental nature of the work you do. Yes, even as a JS slinger, you still have the exact same computing fundamentals to deal with. It's not like basketball and golf, it's like basic athleticism. No you can't be an A basketball player if you don't have a minimum of athleticism. And the same is true for almost all sports. The fundamentals of computer science are to developers like cardio is to athletes.
    - Zimahl 14y ago
      I would say that if have no interest in what is literally half of the internet, it does not matter how good you are at the back end, you are not an A player. There are very few people who could have enough knowledge of all the domains of CS to be an 'A player' in your definition. This is about the fundamental nature of the work you do. Yes, even as a JS slinger, you still have the exact same computing fundamentals to deal with. Not sure if you are literally targeting me, but I am a backend developer who does a fair share of UI. I frankly despise JS but live with it nonetheless.