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Correction, properly learning about data types and binary representation is critical to "get" programming. I've found that web developers often undervalue (or
by ngoel36 13y ago
Correction, properly learning about data types and binary representation is critical to "get" programming.
I've found that web developers often undervalue (or even scoff at) web developers with CS degrees, but any first-year CS/EECE student at a decent university (or even someone who has taken a couple of Coursera CS classes) would have instantly recognized this to be a floating point related issue. Being able to whip up some scaffolds in Rails is great and immensely useful, but I'm of the opinion that a great Rails programmer will need a proper understanding of the C & Assembly that's behind all the magic.
- bradleyland 13y agoIt's both, really. Knowing the correct data type won't get you anywhere if you use a language like PHP and assume that it will always correctly guess the required data type for a given problem. I find that when it comes to programmers who reach a certain level of proficiency, it doesn't matter whether they learned these things through a CS degree, or through hard knocks. I started out with VBScript and ASP 1.0. I didn't get a CS degree, but I ended up learning about floating point errors rather quickly. This lead me to learn more about data types. Similar result, different path. I ended up paying for my error, much like someone would pay for an education. There are certainly bad programmers without CS degrees who make these mistakes, but I know plenty of programmers who hold a CS degree and will consistently misuse float unless reminded to use something more appropriate.