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Perhaps the comment came out wrong, let me try to be a little clearer. I'm not trying to create separate categories between front-end, back-end, desktop, CLI,

Perhaps the comment came out wrong, let me try to be a little clearer. I'm not trying to create separate categories between front-end, back-end, desktop, CLI, and systems engineers. The distinction I am trying to make though is that yes, while Computing has become a vast field, there simply are some basic fundamental skills that are absolutely required if we want to go beyond our current level of achievement. These are things that you have mentioned: deep knowledge of algorithms, data structures, software engineering, computer architecture, etc. This is absolutely the MINIMUM requirement Without understanding these things, we will stay at this present level of software engineering forever. Sure we will have mastered the tools, and the current programming-paradigms that these tools teach us, but we will not be able to advance. Whether one programs in JavaScript, Forth, Common Lisp, or even BASIC isn't the issue. The point that Fogus's post is trying to get across, or at least what I have taken away from it, is that most "serious" programmers are incredibly lacking in what is considered basic foundational knowledge. What field one specializes in is irrelevant, there is just some stuff that everyone has to understand, not necessarily in the way that a specialist in the field does, but at least have more than passing, cursory knowledge of it.

jnbiche 12y ago
Fair enough. We're are on the same page, after all.
vegedor 12y ago
The title doesn't represen the problem properly. It would better be 10 Things every Programmer should _learn_. Now, if you are in the beginning of developing, obviously there is more, but from a universal point of view, you should really want to advance to these points, but not everyone has to agree with that, since before learning that, the question is what you wanted to build using information technology. So are you arguing about a True Scotsman? The term Computer Science is very specific, as you might be thinking of, in contrast to Engineering or Design. Programmer isn't. Many technical schools do teach a combination of design/engineering and computer science however to bridge the gaps from either side, where the focus is less on science than it's application. Therefore the Master Classes are more focused as well and it might just so happen you never get in touch with distributed computing more than once. Although, that might become an outdated assumption.

jnbiche 12y ago

Fair enough. We're are on the same page, after all.

vegedor 12y ago

The title doesn't represen the problem properly. It would better be 10 Things every Programmer should _learn_. Now, if you are in the beginning of developing, obviously there is more, but from a universal point of view, you should really want to advance to these points, but not everyone has to agree with that, since before learning that, the question is what you wanted to build using information technology. So are you arguing about a True Scotsman? The term Computer Science is very specific, as you might be thinking of, in contrast to Engineering or Design. Programmer isn't. Many technical schools do teach a combination of design/engineering and computer science however to bridge the gaps from either side, where the focus is less on science than it's application. Therefore the Master Classes are more focused as well and it might just so happen you never get in touch with distributed computing more than once. Although, that might become an outdated assumption.