The Professional Programmer - Revision history

Unclebob at 21:55, 8 July 2009

2009-07-08T21:55:39Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 21:55, 8 July 2009
Line 5:		Line 5:
	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible for staying up-to-date with the industry and the technology. Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we. The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to do a good job.		* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible for staying up-to-date with the industry and the technology. Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we. The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to do a good job.

-	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we ~~do our best to ensure that QA have~~ nothing to find.	+	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we will leave nothing for QA to find.

	* Professionals are team players. They take responsibility for the output of the whole team, not just their own work. They help each other, teach each other, learn from each other, and even cover for each other when necessary. When one team-mate falls down, the others step in, knowing that one day they'll be the ones to need cover.		* Professionals are team players. They take responsibility for the output of the whole team, not just their own work. They help each other, teach each other, learn from each other, and even cover for each other when necessary. When one team-mate falls down, the others step in, knowing that one day they'll be the ones to need cover.

Kevlin at 19:11, 8 July 2009

2009-07-08T19:11:43Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 19:11, 8 July 2009
Line 3:		Line 3:
	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.		The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.

-	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible ~~to stay~~ up-to-date with the industry and the technology. Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we. The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to do a good job.	+	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible for staying up-to-date with the industry and the technology. Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we. The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to do a good job.

-	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we ~~expect~~ QA to find ~~nothing~~.	+	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we do our best to ensure that QA have nothing to find.

-	* Professionals are team players. They take responsibility for the output of the whole team, not just their own work. They help each other, teach each other, learn from each other, and even cover for each other when necessary. When one team-mate falls down, the others step in, knowing that one day they'll be the ones to need cover.	+	* Professionals are team players. They take responsibility for the output of the whole team, not just their own work. They help each other, teach each other, learn from each other, and even cover for each other when necessary. When one team-mate falls down, the others step in, knowing that one day they'll be the ones to need cover.

-	* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.	+	* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.

-	* Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush. Imagine that you are having an out-of-body experience watching a doctor perform open-heart surgery on ''you''. This doctor has a ''deadline'' (in the literal sense). He must finish before the heart-lung bypass machine damages too many of your blood cells. How do you want him to behave? Do you want him to behave like the typical software developer, rushing and making a mess? Do you want him to say: "I'll go back and fix this later?" Or do you want him to hold carefully to his disciplines, taking his time, confident that his approach is the best approach he can reasonably take. Do you want a mess, or professionalism.	+	* Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'' rush. Imagine that you are having an out-of-body experience watching a doctor perform open-heart surgery on ''you''. This doctor has a ''deadline'' (in the literal sense). He must finish before the heart-lung bypass machine damages too many of your blood cells. How do you want him to behave? Do you want him to behave like the typical software developer, rushing and making a mess? Do you want him to say: "I'll go back and fix this later?" Or do you want him to hold carefully to his disciplines, taking his time, confident that his approach is the best approach he can reasonably take. Do you want a mess, or professionalism.

-	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship. They do not abandon their principles when deadlines loom. Indeed, when the pressure mounts, professionals hold ever tighter to the disciplines they know are right.	+	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship. They do not abandon their principles when deadlines loom. Indeed, when the pressure mounts, professionals hold ever tighter to the disciplines they know are right.

	by [[Uncle Bob]]		by [[Uncle Bob]]

Unclebob at 16:42, 18 February 2009

2009-02-18T16:42:28Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 16:42, 18 February 2009
Line 6:		Line 6:

	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.		* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.
		+
		+	* Professionals are team players. They take responsibility for the output of the whole team, not just their own work. They help each other, teach each other, learn from each other, and even cover for each other when necessary. When one team-mate falls down, the others step in, knowing that one day they'll be the ones to need cover.

	* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.		* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.

Unclebob at 13:40, 26 November 2008

2008-11-26T13:40:24Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:40, 26 November 2008
Line 3:		Line 3:
	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.		The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.

-	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.	+	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology. Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we. The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to do a good job.
-		+
-	Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.	+
-		+
-	The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to ~~behave professionally~~.	+

	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.		* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.
Line 13:		Line 9:
	* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.		* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.

-	* Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.	+	* Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush. Imagine that you are having an out-of-body experience watching a doctor perform open-heart surgery on ''you''. This doctor has a ''deadline'' (in the literal sense). He must finish before the heart-lung bypass machine damages too many of your blood cells. How do you want him to behave? Do you want him to behave like the typical software developer, rushing and making a mess? Do you want him to say: "I'll go back and fix this later?" Or do you want him to hold carefully to his disciplines, taking his time, confident that his approach is the best approach he can reasonably take. Do you want a mess, or professionalism.
-		+
-	~~By analogy~~	+

-	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.	+	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship. They do not abandon their principles when deadlines loom. Indeed, when the pressure mounts, professionals hold ever tighter to the disciplines they know are right.

	by [[Uncle Bob]]		by [[Uncle Bob]]

Unclebob at 13:35, 26 November 2008

2008-11-26T13:35:06Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:35, 26 November 2008
Line 9:		Line 9:
	The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to behave professionally.		The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to behave professionally.

-	# Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.	+	* Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.

-	# Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.	+	* Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.

-	# Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.	+	* Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.

	By analogy		By analogy

Unclebob at 13:34, 26 November 2008

2008-11-26T13:34:46Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:34, 26 November 2008
Line 3:		Line 3:
	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.		The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.

-	# If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.	+	* If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.

	Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.		Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.

Unclebob at 13:34, 26 November 2008

2008-11-26T13:34:25Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 13:34, 26 November 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
	What is a professional programmer?		What is a professional programmer?

-	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. ~~If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible~~ for ~~your own~~ career~~. ''You'' are responsible for reading~~ and ~~learning~~. ~~''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology~~.	+	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. Professional programmers take responsibility for their career, their estimates, their schedule commitments, their mistakes, and their workmanship. A professional programmers does not pass that responsibility off on others.

-	~~Too many programmers feel that it is their employers job to train them. Sorry~~, ~~this is just dead wrong. Do~~ you ~~think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their~~ own ~~time, and their own nickel~~. ~~They spend much of their off-hours~~ reading ~~journals~~ and ~~decisions~~. ~~They keep themselves~~ up-to-date~~. And so must we~~.	+	# If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.

-	~~The Pragmatic Programmers wrote: "Learn a new language every year." You should not expect your~~ employer to ~~send you to a training class to achieve this goal~~. ~~You should do~~ this on ~~your~~ own time, ~~with your~~ own ~~resources~~.	+	Too many programmers feel that it is their employer's job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.

-	~~Professionals take responsibility for the code they write~~. They ~~do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing~~ to ~~release code that~~ you are not sure of? A professional programmer expects QA to find ''nothing'' because the professional only releases the code when he's done everything reasonably possible to achieve that goal. Of course QA will find some problems, ~~because no one is perfect. But our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA~~ to ~~find nothing~~.	+	The relationship between you and your employer is spelled out nicely in your employment contract. In short: They promise to pay you, and you promise to behave professionally.

-	Professionals do not ~~tolerate big bug lists~~. ~~A huge bug list is sloppy~~. ~~Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database~~ are ~~tragedies~~ of ~~carelessness~~. ~~Indeed~~, ~~the very need for an issue tracking system is evidence of carelessness~~ because ~~even the biggest systems should have bug lists that number in the~~ ''~~dozens~~''.	+	# Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? Professional programmers expect QA to find ''nothing'' because ''they don't release their code until they've thoroughly tested it''. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But as professionals our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.

-	Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.	+	# Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, in most projects the very need for an issue tracking system is a symptom of carelessness. Only the very biggest systems should have bug lists so long that automation is required to manage them.
		+
		+	# Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.
		+
		+	By analogy

	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.		Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.

Kevlin at 16:52, 24 November 2008

2008-11-24T16:52:04Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 16:52, 24 November 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
	What is a professional programmer?		What is a professional programmer?

-	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible ~~to read~~ and ~~learn~~. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.	+	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible for reading and learning. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.

-	Too many programmers feel that it is their employers job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think ~~Doctors~~ behave that way? Do you think ~~Lawyers~~ behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.	+	Too many programmers feel that it is their employers job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think doctors behave that way? Do you think lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.

-	The ~~pragmatic programmers~~ wrote: "Learn a new language every year." You should not expect your employer to send you to a training class to achieve this goal. You should do this on your own time, with your own resources.	+	The Pragmatic Programmers wrote: "Learn a new language every year." You should not expect your employer to send you to a training class to achieve this goal. You should do this on your own time, with your own resources.

-	Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? A professional programmer expects QA to find ''nothing'' because the professional only releases the code when he's done everything reasonably possible to achieve that goal. Of course QA will find some problems, because ~~none of us are~~ perfect. But our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.	+	Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? A professional programmer expects QA to find ''nothing'' because the professional only releases the code when he's done everything reasonably possible to achieve that goal. Of course QA will find some problems, because no one is perfect. But our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.

-	Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, the very need for an issue tracking system is evidence of carelessness because even the biggest systems should have bug lists that number in the ''dozens''.	+	Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, the very need for an issue tracking system is evidence of carelessness because even the biggest systems should have bug lists that number in the ''dozens''.

-	Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.	+	Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.

-	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.	+	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.

	by [[Uncle Bob]]		by [[Uncle Bob]]

Unclebob at 11:24, 20 November 2008

2008-11-20T11:24:19Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:24, 20 November 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	What is a professional programmer?

		+	The single most important trait of a professional programmer is ''personal responsibility''. If you are a professional, then ''you'' are responsible for your own career. ''You'' are responsible to read and learn. ''You'' are responsible to stay up-to-date with the industry and the technology.

		+	Too many programmers feel that it is their employers job to train them. Sorry, this is just dead wrong. Do you think Doctors behave that way? Do you think Lawyers behave that way? No, they train themselves on their own time, and their own nickel. They spend much of their off-hours reading journals and decisions. They keep themselves up-to-date. And so must we.
		+
		+	The pragmatic programmers wrote: "Learn a new language every year." You should not expect your employer to send you to a training class to achieve this goal. You should do this on your own time, with your own resources.
		+
		+	Professionals take responsibility for the code they write. They do not release code unless they ''know'' it works. Think about that for a minute. How can you possibly consider yourself a professional if you are willing to release code that you are not sure of? A professional programmer expects QA to find ''nothing'' because the professional only releases the code when he's done everything reasonably possible to achieve that goal. Of course QA will find some problems, because none of us are perfect. But our ''attitude'' must be that we expect QA to find nothing.
		+
		+	Professionals do not tolerate big bug lists. A huge bug list is sloppy. Systems with thousands of issues in the issue tracking database are tragedies of carelessness. Indeed, the very need for an issue tracking system is evidence of carelessness because even the biggest systems should have bug lists that number in the ''dozens''.
		+
		+	Professionals do not make a mess. They take pride in their workmanship. They keep their code clean, well structured, and easy to read. They follow agreed upon standards and best practices. They never, ''ever'', rush.
		+
		+	Professionals are responsible. They take responsibility for their own careers. They take responsibility for making sure their code works properly. They take responsibility for the quality of their workmanship.

	by [[Uncle Bob]]		by [[Uncle Bob]]

Unclebob: New page: by Uncle Bob 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 hom...

2008-11-19T23:14:15Z

New page: by Uncle Bob 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 hom...

New page

by [[Uncle Bob]]

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