(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen)
I\’m going to get up on my soapbox for a little bit here. You see… I consider myself to be a good programmer. Now, I don\’t mean the BEST programmer, just a good one. I know there are so many things that I have yet to learn out there. In my days I\’ve come across both good and bad programmers, and I could probably write a decent book on how you can tell a good programmer from a bad one.
A good programmer is usually socially awkward. Having been to many developer social gatherings, it\’s funny to see what exactly happens when you put a bunch of socially awkward people in a room with each other. If a programmer is easy to get along with and communicates effectively, they are probably not going to be a good programmer.
A bad programmer\’s software works. A good programmer\’s software works well. There is a big difference between having something that just works and something that scales effectively, can be easily updated, and can have other people work on it without much training.
A good programmer writes code with other people in mind. They explain confusing logic, they document their code well, and they organize their code. The last one is a favorite of mine and something I\’m always trying to do better with. I hate installing a piece of web software only to find out that they\’ve scattered files all over my webserver that is virtually impossible for me to clean up. Yes, WordPress falls into this category, as well as most forum software.
A bad programmer brags about their work and how much stuff they have accomplished or can accomplish. Good developers are typically pretty humble and don\’t talk a lot about their accomplishments. They think, \”You probably wouldn\’t understand me if I talked about my work anyway, so why bother?\” They prefer to stay behind the scenes rather than being the face of a product.
What does this matter to you? If you have a working relationship with a good programmer, pat them on the back and let them know how much you appreciate the grief that they protect you from!