RE: The Mythical Man-Month

["Sarah Bouchier" <Sarah -dot- Bouchier -at- exony -dot- com>]

>Barring languages right outside the usual paradigm, like APL or Prolog,
any
>competent programmer should be able to pick up a new language in a few
>days or weeks. However, you still see lots of ads that emphasize
experience
>with Java or whatever over the analytic and design skills that make a
>really
>good programmer.

I entirely agree; and so does the head of R&D here.  He recently asked
me to write a job ad for a new developer where all of the actual
languages and tools we use were 'nice to haves'; what he really wanted
me to emphasise in the requirements were analytical skills, enthusiasm
for problem-solving and independent and creative thought.

It was really nice to be able to put something I have long believed into
practice.

Sarah Bouchier
Technical Author

exony

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