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I think the first question that needs to be asked is "What is the purpose of the Computer Science Department?" Is it to turn out coders? Is it to turn out Software Engineers? It is typically part of the Science faculty, just like the Chemistry Department and the Physics Department. What does the Chemistry Department do? Does it turn out people who can mix chemicals? Does it turn out people who can design chemical plants? And what does the Physics Department do? Does it turn out people who can do physics experiments? Does it turn out people who can design elevators and jetliners?
The Science Faculty is supposed to teach people how to think and to use the scientific method to explore the world/universe around us. They are not responsible or equipped to turn out Engineers, be it Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical or Software Engineers.
Case in point. An Engineering Professor was teaching a Software Engineering Course and was hauled before the university disciplinary committee for teaching research material to undergrads. The evidence of his crime was a state transition diagram. The typical Science Faculty is not equipped to turn out Software Engineers any more than it is equipped to turn out Engineers to build nuclear reactors. This situation has been slowly changing but obviously not fast enough.
In my 25 years in the software business, I have only found 2 software developers who knew the engineering definition of the word "Design".
Roughly half of all people employed as software developers have any formal training in Software Development (and I am including a Computer Science Degree).
90 percent of all software developers (and their management) have no idea what configuration management is or what its purpose is. Most think that a developer managed tool is CM.
Most developers (and their management) believe that inspections are less efficient than testing at finding defects.
Most software development organizations use a development process that includes frequent merges (well it works so well when developing jet planes and skyscrapers).
Something has to change and it needs to change soon. We see evidence every day that our most secure software systems have more holes than a Swiss Cheese.
The vast majority of software development organizations do not use metrics, even if they collect them. Even brick layers are more sophisticated that software development shops when it come to metrics.
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That just about sums it up. And from both perspectives it makes uncomfortable reading. 
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You wonder if the person went to the wrong classroom and wound up with a degree due to a clerical error. That's what you get when you use your student's projects for real. 
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Maybe you know more than you give yourself credit for. Read about the Dunning Kruger effect and you might feel a little better about your skills. (Search on google).
Simply put - the Dunning Kruger effect posits that "the more you know, the more you know what you don't know." This results in people who know little overestimating their ability, and conversely, people with more experience having a more realistic view of their skills.
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If you cross a dog with a vegetable, would you get a Collie Flower?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Flowers are vegetables?
Cross a river with a mutt, p'raps?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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All i know is if you cross a bulldog and a shihtzu, you would get a bull$**+ 
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If either the bride or groom is below the age of consent they cantaloupe. How they'll marry beet's me.
If you crossed you dog with a tree it would still have bark.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: If you crossed you dog with a tree it would still have bark.
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Once they are married she will give him a giant honeydew list.
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or a Barkcollie.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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You would get a melon collie baby.
(running, ducking, and hiding)
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Hold still, Daniel. We're going to have to hurt you now.
Software Zen: delete this;
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And if one were to cross a dog with one's brother, one would get a broccoli, would one not?
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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A Shih Tzucchini?
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Thought you were going to post the answer to the CCC
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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pkfox wrote: post the answer to the CCC
I think he's moved on and working on the KKK perhaps? 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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RyanDev wrote: There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
I do, I promise. And I know all the 9 others too!
... such stuff as dreams are made on
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Sorry - I was busy and couldn't get away!
It's done now, so you don't need to do it tomorrow.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I reckon that a very significant percentage of what I have learnt in my life is now dead knowledge - i.e. it will never be needed in my life again.
Old programming languages, command line parameters for no longer extant applications, the maze layouts of games I no longer have, libraries and patterns that have been consigned to history.
Thank goodness my memory has a Guinness powered garbage collection function 
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I totally disagree on your point of view. Developing software isnt not only the knowledge about some program language and some platform, but also the experience to discuss and work with co-workers and costumers, and professional skills like using the "best practice" like a healthy working discipline, responsibility awareness, writing clean code and a sound software architecture.
As I are becoming 50 and working with some junior developers (25+) I see that my experiences are often more helpful and precious than their "brand new knowledge" but doing beginner errors.
(which I done some 20 years ago).
Press F1 for help or google it.
Greetings from Germany
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For the last 100 years we drive our economy with dead dinosaur knowledge aka oil. Nothing wrong with knowledge that you never will use again. What is much more valuable is the experience you gained, and that is never dead.
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I share some of his point of view: back in '96, I was developing a C application utilizing Presentation Manager on OS/2. I'm sure something I learned back then has influenced the rest of my life in positive ways, but most of it is just scrap!
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Learning what is scrap is valuable learning.
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If you make an error at least learn to avoid it in the future (as you say below)
Sometimes to learn how NOT to do something is easier and stays longer in your mind than learning it the right way.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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