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I think the difficulty lies in the multiple meanings of 'programmer.' My interest in programming stems from wanting to use them to solve problems, not from the

by mkn 17y ago

I think the difficulty lies in the multiple meanings of 'programmer.' My interest in programming stems from wanting to use them to solve problems, not from theoretical interest in how computers work. Most of my colleagues in the UW engineering department I was in learned just enough Matlab to get the homework done. I learned enough to program a solution to the homework. I originally learned QBasic to program a Mandelbrot-set generator on a 286, because I wanted to generate the Mandelbrot set. Should a web developer learn machine code? I dunno. You can get pretty far in web development with a good head, some Railscasts and tutorials, and a bit of practice. Maybe the question is "When should a web developer learn machine code?" I think the answer to that question, if he/she is a working web developer, is, "When he/she has to, when it comes up." For myself, I look at these--let's be frank--esoteric things like machine code, higher-order whatever, compiler-design, and so on and think, "That may be interesting, but I've got work to do and fun to have. I'll wait until I have to know it before I learn it." I've already had to learn about lambdas. Very fun stuff, but also very useful stuff. Now, should the macho programmer learn machine code? Of course. But the macho programmer should also be manufacturing his own computer chips as well, to better fit with his pure and obviously correct programming methods.

arghnoname 17y ago
I'd agree that for web development, assembly is almost certainly something a typical programmer won't have to know. I'd argue that C is a good idea for various reasons, but that argument's been had already. That said, "learn it when you need it" is problematic because of the case where you don't know what you don't know. In my own experience, I've learned lots of things and then thought back to previous problems and had little epiphanies on better solutions. People that don't experience that probably aren't improving very much. Perhaps it would be useful if various communities (like webdev, etc) put together curriculum guides for "things you don't know you don't know, but should know." Of course, what should be on the list would be a source of bitter contention I'm sure.

by mkn 17y ago

arghnoname 17y ago

I'd agree that for web development, assembly is almost certainly something a typical programmer won't have to know. I'd argue that C is a good idea for various reasons, but that argument's been had already. That said, "learn it when you need it" is problematic because of the case where you don't know what you don't know. In my own experience, I've learned lots of things and then thought back to previous problems and had little epiphanies on better solutions. People that don't experience that probably aren't improving very much. Perhaps it would be useful if various communities (like webdev, etc) put together curriculum guides for "things you don't know you don't know, but should know." Of course, what should be on the list would be a source of bitter contention I'm sure.