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So, yeah.. no.
Also, I appreciate and agree with the mindset that SSL should be ubiquitous and that this site is insecure, but I gotta say, the way you're phrasing this reminds me of the most arrogant, spoiled customers that "demand" whatever pleases them to customer support and take out all their anger on CSRs.
You can share advice without being demanding and arrogant. Try it.
I'm curious if the paying of $199 goes over SSL or not. I would hope so but I didn't want to go through the process to find out.
I guess what I'm getting at is: most great developers I've met choose and use whatever language is the best fit for the job, even if it isn't their favorite. Targeting a specific language appears to be more of a niche, to me, and not as forward-thinking (what if, in order to scale, a different language is more appropriate and you hired only Python experts?). So how typical is it for people to go through either side of this type of process when you're targeting for a very, very specific type of knowledge ?
Curious mostly; not trying to simply be contrarian.
It seems to me that programming language count is overvalued in online discussions on e.g. HN or reddit. The argument is that each extra programming language makes one a better programmer and it's one's duty to learn as many as possible.
However, this is not realistic:
* becoming fluent is a language means knowing the style, idioms, libraries and ecosystem and very importantly delivering software created with that language. It will take years to reach this level (see Norvig's essay about learning a programming language in 10 years).
* knowledge has a half-life: not using a language means that your knowledge will slowly become obsolete, one will forget library usage patterns, etc. This can happen very fast for e.g Javascript or slowly for e.g: C.
* a programming language is a very complex tool and it's really hard to be and remain fluent in (my estimate) more than three languages at the same time. As an example, I've already forgotten a lot of Java and a lot of Android in less than 9 months - I can ramp up pretty fast, a few weeks, but I won't be anywhere near the level of productivity of a full-time Java dev. I have the feeling that most devs that know many languages know them well enough, not inside out.
* learning languages will take away time that can be better spent learning other important topics such as architecture, people skills, domain-specific topics, etc.
Finally there's personal preference. Some people like X, have specialised in it and would like to use it as much as possible. Why shouldn't they? If you invest years of your life in something, you don't switch unless you have a good reason.
As long as one is successful using this strategy, I don't see anything wrong. Software engineering isn't supposed to be a fashion show - we should use what works and switch only when there's a need.
It's kind of like.. employee benefits I guess? If I am going to have to spend most of my life programming I'd rather do it in a less painful way.
>what if, in order to scale, a different language is more appropriate and you hired only Python experts?
I don't think this is really an issue. Just because someone is a Python expert doesn't imply that the person doesn't know its good and bad parts. If anything they might understand the limitations even better and know when it's time to switch.
> I don't think this is really an issue. Just because someone is a Python expert doesn't imply that the person doesn't know its good and bad parts. If anything they might understand the limitations even better and know when it's time to switch.
While I completely agree with you, in theory, I've never actually experienced this. My anecdotal experience with people who tend to become experts with a specific language has almost always been them trying to force it for every single use case.
I'm hoping my personal experience is less indicative of the industry in general but I really have no data to go off of beyond it.
So regardless whether I could learn Rails in a reasonable time or not, I remain stuck in my pigeon-hole (exception is if a new tech comes along like Elixir, where you have a chance at getting in the ground floor).
Also, if my entire codebase is in Python, it might make sense to at least target someone who shows a preference for working in Python.
Unless you have been involved as a software dev for 20+ years, if you have on your resume that you know perl,javascript, python, and java...that normally just means you know them very poorly and can only work with them by cuttingand pasting code from google searches... This has just been my general experience (with myself actually...)
So, IMO, it is perfectly fine to target one language. If your entire stack is in python, why would you want to onboard a senior Java dev and then spend the next year training him how to use flask, sqlalchemy, django, jquery, ect? Each one of those takes a couple of months to get fluid at...
Why is that? Think about it: How many jobs have you ever worked where you only had to know one language, or one stack? What sort of person would desire to work on the same stack, job after job? Who wouldn't have the curiosity or professionalism to branch into other areas on the job? I've never in my career encountered a full Python stack. There's at minimum some combination of C, C++, SQL, or JavaScript.
I believe there are two kinds of developers: Those who try to fit the world of software into their own mental model, and those who try to learn the model of the world of software. The former cling to the first technologies with which they achieved proficiency. The latter feel the urge to expand their horizons, so that they can better understand their early learnings in the larger context of computing, a pursuit that hones all software development skills.
Who do you want to work with?
I look forward to my development career being summarised as a series of different favourite languages/ecosystems as I explore and progress.
Disclaimer - I am associated with importpython.com now.
For example, a search for "London" gives 3 hits - then a small little gap, and then a massive column full of non-python jobs
That site made me think of it. I'm in my last year of highschool and I'd like to make some money as a python dev with simple missions
I'm not associated with them in any way but as a boot strapper I love free high quality tools and they have one that's been superb for us.
http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2010/08/18/why-free-plans-dont-...
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