What they don't teach you in CS class
Software Engineering!!!
A scientist builds in order to learn; an engineer learns in order to build. - Fred Brooks in the Mythical Man-Month.
Following up on my post about the need for a CS degree for programmers, I had started writing this post on how software engineering requires a different set of skills than what is required for a computer scientist. But then I saw that most of what I wanted to say had already been very well captured by a lot of other very famous people, so instead of reiterating, I’ll be posting links to some good reads on this topic.
But before that here is a quick summary of what I think are the most important skills for a programmer, which has somethings in common with those required by a computer scientist but also some that are not.
- Given a system, have a very good understanding of it’s rules. The systems that a programmer typically works with are the language, the OS, the implementation platform(Java, .Net, Python etc.) and libraries. This knowledge is essential when writing code as well as when debugging issues. Most good programmers have encyclopedic knowledge of the systems that they’re working with, one of the best examples that I can think of is Raymond Chen.
- Be able to come up with efficient ways to get a particular task done using the rules of the system. I think this is something that you’re born and although this can potentially be learnt, I think the best programmers have an innate talent for this aspect of programming. Some common techniques for solving problems are taught in CS class, but the ones most used in reality are mostly based on common sense. One of the most excellent books that I’ve read on abstract problem solving is “How to solve it: Modern Heuristics” by Zbigniew Michalewicz and David B. Fogel
- Be able to express their thoughts in a manner that can be easily understood by other programmers. This aspect is something that can only be learnt by experience. This is one area that is very important yet gets very little weightage in CS class. I’ve seen some extremely unreadable code, that when deciphered showed extraordinary problem solving ability. For examples, browse some of the solutions submitted by top rankers at TopCoder.com. One of the best books on this aspect and my recommendation as a first book for any programmer is Code Complete by Steve McConnell
- Be a good problem solver, this includes having related abilities like systematic elimination of possibilities to reach a solution, hypothesis testing to narrow down causes etc. This again is something that you’re born with and can potentially be learnt to some level. Best book on this aspect that I’ve read is Debugging Applications by John Robbins of NuMega, although this book is windows specific, some of the chapters that deal with debugging strategies and techniques to prevent bugs are invaluable.
- Use your experience to prevent mistakes. This is another area about which very little is written but you can easily make out professional code by the way in which bugs are fixed. Newbies tend to fix the bug at the point of its happening and that’s it, a professional on the other hand thinks about what caused this kind of error to get introduced in the first place and then puts in checks to ensure that similar kinds of issues don’t enter into code and if they do then get flushed out immediately. Also when faced with similar types of problems, good programmers are able to look at the meta problem and come up with reusable solutions for them.
- Experience, nothing can compare to having written and maintained 1000000+ lines of code.
And here are the links on the CS vs SE question…