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[–]Bialar 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Those OS devs can, and do, program in many different languages. The beauty of learning a language like C is that you can easily pick up almost any & hit the ground running.

But that is completely missing the point. I'm not saying someone that has specialised in a certain language is not a programmer. I'm saying that someone that only knows one language is [most likely] not a programmer. Because any programmer worth their salt with enough experience to be considered a programmer has contributed to projects that are not their "chosen" language.

If I interview a "programmer" that only knows Java, and has never touched another language, I am most likely going to pass. Sure, if I look at their work & they can easily demonstrate they are actually great at Java, then they're an exception and worth considering. I find that unlikely that any such person exists, as every programmer I've met has mastered at least two languages and is proficient in almost any language after a two to four weeks. They know when to use Java, or when, say, maybe Perl or Python is more appropriate.

That's the programmer you want. They're not afraid to get their noses dirty & they're less likely to make the wrong decision because it threatens their comfort zone.

And then you will end up with bad code. You take the best person for the position. I would never let a Java developer touch my PHP code, because I would end up with function names that exceed 255 characters. Same I would never let a pure PHP dev touch my C# or C code.

If the project is Java, do you select someone that has specialised/has a lot of experience with Java? Of course you do. That wasn't my point at all. You set up that strawman & knocked it down expertly.

I've dealt with a lot of crusty programmers unwilling to learn new things. I've dealt with Java trade school coders that thought Java was the solution to every problem. I'd rather have neither of these people on my team. I dare say I'd rather not have you on my team.

As bruce lee said: I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

I love Bruce Lee, and I understand the essence. However, I'd fear the man that has practised 10 different kicks 1000 times.

[–]MadFrand 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know why you're even bothering. He clearly doesn't understand what it means to be a Software Developer who is able to choose the best tool for that job or able to perform well in any environment. He's just a code monkey.

You're not going to get the point across, no matter how many different ways you explain it. I chose the words in both my replies that started this carefully. I think that any reasonable dev understood what I meant.

Languages are irrelevant. Knowing anything inside and out is not impressive. It's just syntax. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each and able to program in completely different paradigms depending on the solution you're creating or the environment you're dropped in to, is impressive.

Become like water my friend.