Here is how you can become a good programmer according to expertsHow do I become a good coder and what should the ideal characteristics of a good coder?AdaptabilityInquisitiveExperienced/well roundedKnow/Learn your needs instead of buzzwords
While many youngsters aspire to be coders, a few of them actually make it to the list of top rung programmers. There are many reasons for this. One of the prime reasons is however poor choice and lack of dedication. Some blame it on technology while others have their own reasons. But at last it all boils down to how much you can put into coding. Quora user, Guillermo Schwarz, who has spent over twenty years developing software, has a list of dos and donts for wannabe programmers While another user, Steve Cook, who also has 20+ years of experience in programming doesnt fully agree with Schwarz. Cook says that the first thing a wannabe coder should do is ask a question to himself/herself : Cook says that the problem with Guillermo Schwarz‘s list is that, he is all about the learning of laundry list items. Cook argues that all things pointed out by Schwarz can be learnt from Google, “Google is there for a reason, it is more important to know where to find answers than “knowing” the answers. In his response he gave lots of “his world” answers, but where is object oriented development going to help you write anything in a C program?” Cook has a different list altogether for all those who want to learn programming. Cook’s list involves more of human nature than technology and coding itself.
Adaptability
Keep in mind the world does not play by the made up rules of programmers. There will be times where you will need to break standards, skip testing, throw something together so quickly that it breaks all best practices. This is life, life is messy. If you don’t have these conditions, your either really lucky or just playing programmer on tv.
Inquisitive
Average programmers love to chase trends and fads, but often have no real idea why they do what they do. I once asked a person “when is Agile not a good solution?” His answer was never, agile was the end all be all to him. If you want to be a good programmer, you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of things, analyze them, make sure you find the best fit for things instead of just the most popular one at the time. Frameworks, design patterns and philosophies change, as such trend chasers always follow the good programmers, but never become good programmers.
Experienced/well rounded
This goes along with inquisitive. The more we experience the more directions we can see things going. Push your limits, if you can’t at your job, then do so at home. If you work in manufacturing, look into banking, often there are solutions applied to a single industry and it takes years before other industries catch on.
Know/Learn your needs instead of buzzwords
Being a great programmer is not knowing lambda expression or about cloud computing. It is about knowing how to research the pros and cons of these topics when needed, or researching wants to resolve the issues you are or will be facing. Yes it is important to stay up on new technology, but not always implement it because you can.
