Don't Just Learn the Language, Understand its Culture - Revision history

Kevlin: Don't just learn the language, understand its culture moved to Don't Just Learn the Language, Understand its Culture

2009-07-07T14:41:34Z

Don't just learn the language, understand its culture moved to Don't Just Learn the Language, Understand its Culture

←Older revision

Revision as of 14:41, 7 July 2009

Kevlin at 14:40, 7 July 2009

2009-07-07T14:40:53Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 14:40, 7 July 2009
Line 1:		Line 1:
	In high school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years later I went to Tunisia on vacation. Arabic is the official language there and, being a former French colony, French is also commonly used. English is only spoken in the touristy areas. Because of my linguistic ignorance, I found myself confined at the poolside reading ''Finnegans Wake'', James Joyce's tour de force in form and language. Joyce's playful blend of more than forty languages was a surprising albeit exhausting experience. Realizing how interwoven foreign words and phrases gave the author new ways of expressing himself is something I've kept with me in my programming career.		In high school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years later I went to Tunisia on vacation. Arabic is the official language there and, being a former French colony, French is also commonly used. English is only spoken in the touristy areas. Because of my linguistic ignorance, I found myself confined at the poolside reading ''Finnegans Wake'', James Joyce's tour de force in form and language. Joyce's playful blend of more than forty languages was a surprising albeit exhausting experience. Realizing how interwoven foreign words and phrases gave the author new ways of expressing himself is something I've kept with me in my programming career.

-	In their seminal book, ''The Pragmatic Programmer'', Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas encourage us to learn a new programming language every year. I've tried to live by their advice and throughout the years I've had the experience of programming in many languages. My most important lesson from my polyglot adventures is that takes more than just learning the syntax to learn a language; you need to understand its culture.  You can write Fortran in any language, but to truly learn a language you have to embrace a language.  Don't make excuses if your C# code is a long <code>main</code> method with mostly <code>static</code> helper methods, but learn why classes make sense. Don't shy away if you have a hard time understanding the lambda expressions used in functional languages, force yourself to use them.	+	In their seminal book, ''The Pragmatic Programmer'', Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas encourage us to learn a new programming language every year. I've tried to live by their advice and throughout the years I've had the experience of programming in many languages. My most important lesson from my polyglot adventures is that takes more than just learning the syntax to learn a language; you need to understand its culture.  You can write Fortran in any language, but to truly learn a language you have to embrace the language.  Don't make excuses if your C# code is a long <code>main</code> method with mostly <code>static</code> helper methods, but learn why classes make sense. Don't shy away if you have a hard time understanding the lambda expressions used in functional languages, force yourself to use them.

	Once you've learned the ropes of a new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.  I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful, and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.		Once you've learned the ropes of a new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.  I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful, and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.

Anoras at 13:01, 25 November 2008

2008-11-25T13:01:38Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:01, 25 November 2008
Line 5:		Line 5:
	Once you've learned the ropes of a new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.  I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful, and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.		Once you've learned the ropes of a new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.  I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful, and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.

-	You'll also get a better understanding of design patterns by moving between different languages. C++ programmers find that C# and Java have commoditized the iterator pattern. In Ruby and other dynamic languages you might still use a visitor, but your implementation won't look like the example from the Gang of Four book.	+	You'll also get a better understanding of design patterns by moving between different languages. C programmers find that C# and Java have commoditized the iterator pattern. In Ruby and other dynamic languages you might still use a visitor, but your implementation won't look like the example from the Gang of Four book.

	Some might argue that ''Finnegans Wake'' is unreadable, while others applaud it for its stylistic beauty. To make the book a less daunting read, single language translations are available. Ironically, the first of these was in French.  Code is in many ways similar. If you write ''Wakese'' code with a little Python, some Java, and a hint of Erlang, your projects will be a mess. If you instead explore new languages to expand your mind and get fresh ideas on how you can solve things in different ways, you will find that the code you write in your trusty old language gets more beautiful for every new language you've learned.		Some might argue that ''Finnegans Wake'' is unreadable, while others applaud it for its stylistic beauty. To make the book a less daunting read, single language translations are available. Ironically, the first of these was in French.  Code is in many ways similar. If you write ''Wakese'' code with a little Python, some Java, and a hint of Erlang, your projects will be a mess. If you instead explore new languages to expand your mind and get fresh ideas on how you can solve things in different ways, you will find that the code you write in your trusty old language gets more beautiful for every new language you've learned.

Kevlin: Don't just learn the language, understand it's culture moved to Don't just learn the language, understand its culture

2008-11-04T05:33:56Z

Don't just learn the language, understand it's culture moved to Don't just learn the language, understand its culture

←Older revision

Revision as of 05:33, 4 November 2008

Kevlin at 05:33, 4 November 2008

2008-11-04T05:33:36Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 05:33, 4 November 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
-	In high-school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years later I went to Tunisia on vacation. Arabic is the official language in there, ~~and~~ being a former French colony French is also commonly used. English is only spoken in the touristy areas. Because of my linguistic ignorance, I found myself confined at the poolside reading James Joyce's tour de force in form and language ~~– "Finnegans Wake"~~.	+	In high school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years later I went to Tunisia on vacation. Arabic is the official language there and, being a former French colony, French is also commonly used. English is only spoken in the touristy areas. Because of my linguistic ignorance, I found myself confined at the poolside reading ''Finnegans Wake'', James Joyce's tour de force in form and language. Joyce's playful blend of more than forty languages was a surprising albeit exhausting experience. Realizing how interwoven foreign words and phrases gave the author new ways of expressing himself is something I've kept with me in my programming career.
-	Joyce's playful blend of more than forty languages was a surprising albeit exhausting experience. Realizing how interwoven foreign words and phrases gave the author new ways of expressing himself is something I've kept with me in my programming career.	+

-	In their seminal book "The Pragmatic Programmer", Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas ~~encourages~~ us to learn a new programming language every year. I've tried to live by their advice and ~~through out~~ the years I've had the experience of programming in many languages. My most important lesson from my polyglot adventures is that takes more than just learning the syntax to learn a language, you need to understand its culture.  You can write Fortran in any language, but you have to embrace a language ~~to truly learn it~~.	+	In their seminal book, ''The Pragmatic Programmer'', Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas encourage us to learn a new programming language every year. I've tried to live by their advice and throughout the years I've had the experience of programming in many languages. My most important lesson from my polyglot adventures is that takes more than just learning the syntax to learn a language; you need to understand its culture.  You can write Fortran in any language, but to truly learn a language you have to embrace a language.  Don't make excuses if your C# code is a long <code>main</code> method with mostly <code>static</code> helper methods, but learn why classes make sense. Don't shy away if you have a hard time understanding the lambda expressions used in functional languages, force yourself to use them.
-	Don't make excuses if your C# code is a long "main" method with mostly static helper methods, but learn why classes make sense. Don't shy away if you have a hard time understanding the lambda expressions used in functional languages, ~~but~~ force yourself to use them.	+

-	Once you've learned the ropes of new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.	+	Once you've learned the ropes of a new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.  I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful, and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.
-	I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.	+

-	You'll also get a better understanding of design patterns by moving between different languages. C++ programmers find that C# and Java have commoditized the iterator pattern. In Ruby and other dynamic languages you might still use a visitor, but your implementation ~~won’t~~ look like the example from the Gang of Four book.	+	You'll also get a better understanding of design patterns by moving between different languages. C++ programmers find that C# and Java have commoditized the iterator pattern. In Ruby and other dynamic languages you might still use a visitor, but your implementation won't look like the example from the Gang of Four book.

-	Some might argue that "Finnegans Wake" is unreadable, while others applaud it for its stylistic beauty. To make the book a less daunting read, single language translations are available. Ironically, the first of these was in French. Code is in many ways similar. If you write ''~~Wakeese~~'' code with a little Python, some Java ~~with~~ a hint of Erlang your projects will be a mess. If you instead explore new languages to expand your mind and get fresh ideas on how you can solve things in different ways, you will find that the code you write in your trusty old language gets more beautiful for every new language ~~you’ve~~ learned.	+	Some might argue that ''Finnegans Wake'' is unreadable, while others applaud it for its stylistic beauty. To make the book a less daunting read, single language translations are available. Ironically, the first of these was in French.  Code is in many ways similar. If you write ''Wakese'' code with a little Python, some Java, and a hint of Erlang, your projects will be a mess. If you instead explore new languages to expand your mind and get fresh ideas on how you can solve things in different ways, you will find that the code you write in your trusty old language gets more beautiful for every new language you've learned.
		+
		+	By [[Anders Norås]]
		+
		+	This work is licensed under a [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ Creative Commons Attribution 3]
		+
		+
		+
		+	Back to [[97 Things Every Programmer Should Know]] home page

Anoras: New page: In high-school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years l...

2008-11-02T22:09:31Z

New page: In high-school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years l...

New page

In high-school, I had to learn a foreign language. At the time I thought that I'd get by nicely being good at English so I chose to sleep through three years of French class. A few years later I went to Tunisia on vacation. Arabic is the official language in there, and being a former French colony French is also commonly used. English is only spoken in the touristy areas. Because of my linguistic ignorance, I found myself confined at the poolside reading James Joyce's tour de force in form and language – "Finnegans Wake".
Joyce's playful blend of more than forty languages was a surprising albeit exhausting experience. Realizing how interwoven foreign words and phrases gave the author new ways of expressing himself is something I've kept with me in my programming career.

In their seminal book "The Pragmatic Programmer", Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas encourages us to learn a new programming language every year. I've tried to live by their advice and through out the years I've had the experience of programming in many languages. My most important lesson from my polyglot adventures is that takes more than just learning the syntax to learn a language, you need to understand its culture.  You can write Fortran in any language, but you have to embrace a language to truly learn it.
 Don't make excuses if your C# code is a long "main" method with mostly static helper methods, but learn why classes make sense. Don't shy away if you have a hard time understanding the lambda expressions used in functional languages, but force yourself to use them. 

Once you've learned the ropes of new language, you'll be surprised how you'll start using languages you already know in new ways.
 I learned how to use delegates effectively in C# from programming Ruby, releasing the full potential of .NETs generics gave me ideas on how I could make Java generics more useful and LINQ made it a breeze to teach myself Scala.

You'll also get a better understanding of design patterns by moving between different languages. C++ programmers find that C# and Java have commoditized the iterator pattern. In Ruby and other dynamic languages you might still use a visitor, but your implementation won’t look like the example from the Gang of Four book.

Some might argue that "Finnegans Wake" is unreadable, while others applaud it for its stylistic beauty. To make the book a less daunting read, single language translations are available. Ironically, the first of these was in French. Code is in many ways similar. If you write ''Wakeese'' code with a little Python, some Java with a hint of Erlang your projects will be a mess. If you instead explore new languages to expand your mind and get fresh ideas on how you can solve things in different ways, you will find that the code you write in your trusty old language gets more beautiful for every new language you’ve learned.