A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software.
317
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52answers
138k views
Why do business analysts and project managers get higher salaries than programmers? [closed]
We have to admit that programming is much more difficult than creating documentation or even creating Gantt chart and asking progress to programmers. So for us that are naives, knowing that ...
150
votes
26answers
15k views
How to apologize when you have broken the nightly build
My first commit in my project resulted in nightly build being broken and people are all over me as we are nearing the release. I want to sent an apology email that should sound sincere
and at the same ...
45
votes
10answers
20k views
How to be a successful programmer without a CS degree [closed]
Disclaimers (Please read before jumping to answer):
I've seen a number of questions similar to the one I would like to ask, so here are some similar questions.
IMHO They are neither completely what ...
42
votes
18answers
5k views
How to manage a developer who has poor communication skills
I manage a small team of developers on an application which is in the mid-point of its lifecycle, within a big firm. This unfortunately means there is commonly a 30/70 split of Programming tasks to ...
31
votes
6answers
2k views
My software is hosted on a “bad” website. Can I do anything about it?
Edit: Thanks for all of the answers, guys! I think I'm just going to include some kind of text on my webpage telling users to only download from the links provided. The thing is that there have been ...
29
votes
19answers
2k views
What hat should a programmer not wear? [closed]
In my experience, software developers tend to wear multiple hats and fill multiple roles with different responsibilities. From not only coding, but sometimes also writing SQL, designing the ...
27
votes
6answers
7k views
Can a developer get a discount for Microsoft products?
If I would start to focus on the .NET platform and be self-employed, then I probably would like to have some Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2010 licenses just for the development ...
25
votes
12answers
1k views
What are developer's problems with helpful error messages?
It continue to astounds me that, in this day and age, products that have years of use under their belt, built by teams of professionals, still to this day - fail to provide helpful error messages to ...
21
votes
12answers
1k views
How to manage a developer with good knowledge of programming language but very poor analytical skills
I work as a team lead in a fast-growing services company. There is one developer in my team who's not performing well, and unable to solve even the simplest of the problems without being spoon-fed.
...
18
votes
7answers
1k views
Are 'Architect' and 'Developer' separate roles?
Is it actually possible to develop software without also architecting it?
18
votes
5answers
788 views
How to handle this unfortunately non hypothetical situation with end-users?
I work in a medium sized company but with a very small IT force.
Last year (2011), I wrote an application that is very popular with a large group of end-users. We hit a deadline at the end of last ...
15
votes
7answers
934 views
Questions to ask before someone leaves [duplicate]
Apart from the obvious questions relating to specific project work someone is working on are there any questions I should be asking a fellow dev who is leaving the company?
So far I am thinking ...
15
votes
11answers
1k views
Hiring Developers - Any tips on being more efficient? [closed]
I represent a software company that is in process of building a large software development team. We are picky in who we hire and have really good retention rate (most of the devs have been here for an ...
14
votes
9answers
1k views
Dealing with a developer continuously ignoring edge cases in his work
I have an interesting, fairly common I guess, issue with one of the developers in my team. The guy is a great developer, work fast and productive, produces fairly good quality code and all. Good ...
13
votes
2answers
7k views
Are there any contracting agreement templates online?
Contracting is fairly common, so I imagine that there's some pre-fab templates for software contracting agreements out there. I'm looking for one that I modify for my needs, pass through my lawyer and ...
11
votes
16answers
939 views
What do you use string reversal for? [closed]
In PHP it's strrev(), in Rails it's .reverse, but most languages don't have any string reverse function. Some have array reverse functions that can be used on characters. I was thinking this must be a ...
11
votes
9answers
6k views
Web Developer or Software Engineer? [closed]
A question that I have been asking myself and really confused which path to take.
So I need your guys help as to the pros and cons of these 2 professions in today's world. I love web applications ...
10
votes
8answers
2k views
What are programmers made to do in spare time in jobs? [closed]
Well, with no prior job experience I am completely ignorant of how things happen at software companies. I want to know what programmers are made to do when there is nothing to do?
Lets consider ...
9
votes
9answers
1k views
How important is XML for a developer?
Is it must that every developer should know XML? How important is XML for a developer? Any suggestion...
9
votes
4answers
673 views
why not use unmanaged safe code in c#
There is an option in c# to execute code unchecked. It's generally not advised to do so, as managed code is much safer and it overcomes a lot of problems.
However I am wondering, if you're sure your ...
9
votes
5answers
524 views
Asking potential developers to draw UML diagrams during the interview
Our interview process currently consists of several coding questions, technical questions and experiences at their current and previous jobs. Coding questions are typically a single method that does ...
8
votes
5answers
698 views
Where to get experience with Big Data? [closed]
I have a strong interest in creating and learning about highly scalable web sites and applications which deal with Big Data. For example, many world class web companies and startups such as Twitter, ...
7
votes
11answers
941 views
How do I handle this job situation? [closed]
I am a recent college graduate. I recently interviewed for a Software Developer position. I really like the environment. I got offers from other places but this place just feels really comfortable for ...
7
votes
10answers
2k views
Are there low stress software jobs? [closed]
I've worked for two major software companies and I cannot deal with the stress.
These are the stressors...
Being asked at the end of the day to get something complicated done that day.
Being asked ...
7
votes
4answers
599 views
Computer science jobs that don't let you develop software outside of that job? [closed]
I'm 15, and I was talking to my friends about what we wanted our future careers to be. I told them that I would like to have a job in the computer science industry (more specifically software ...
7
votes
3answers
379 views
Copyrighting software, templates, etc. under real name or screen name?
My question is hopefully simple--should I copyright my work (art, software, web design, etc.) under my real name or my screen name? My real name and screen name are also easily connected with a bit of ...
7
votes
3answers
227 views
Organisation of Application Development Team Wiki?
Are there any resources available around that suggest best-practice structure for setting up a wiki for developers? I'll be managing a team that has not had the best track record for documentation, ...
6
votes
6answers
3k views
How: Personal life of a Software Developer [duplicate]
have just graduated and am looking for job in the field of Software Development. Since, I like to go with application developments. Well, being a Software Engineer; Can able to survive
personal ...
6
votes
8answers
1k views
What is your favourite/ideal development environment?
If you could describe your ideal development environment, what would it be? There are numerous things to take into consideration, including but not limited to:
Hardware
Software (Operating System of ...
6
votes
6answers
497 views
Is working in ''Classic Asp'' good for me for the future?
I have completed my post graduation in Msc(comp sci)-2010.
Is working in "Classic ASP" today good for me in the future? Because I am fresher and I have learned ASP.NET 3.5 version.
Please let me ...
6
votes
6answers
532 views
Would you partially give up programming for good money?
Lets say you were employed by a company (not a long time ago), that suggested good money and social package. Though while you are occupying a developer position (i.e. java) you do not spend much time ...
6
votes
3answers
591 views
Should the gating question in hiring a web developer be “Have you by yourself, or with one or two partners, ever brought a product to market?”
I've just met a guy, an engineer but a software naif, who's designed, produced, and is now selling a very nice product, a backyard zip line. He devised a new braking system for the thing and has a ...
6
votes
5answers
805 views
What needs to change for Software Engineering to become a formal profession?
Unlike other professions (such as Accounting, Law, Medicine, etc.), there is no profession-wide certification for Software Engineering.
I am well aware of the multitude of technology and methodology ...
5
votes
3answers
302 views
from software developer to a software teacher career [closed]
I am a software engineer on a large company and I love what I do. However, I feel that on the long run I would like to become a teacher on these subjects, not exactly a classic uni teacher, but more ...
5
votes
1answer
412 views
Does this list of management behaviors actually appeal to software developers?
I came across this list of management behaviors (http://suven.posterous.com/dos-and-donts-leading-software-development-te).
I think it has some gems, but I'm not 100% on some of them. I've marked ...
4
votes
7answers
495 views
Should a developer create test cases and then run through test cases? [duplicate]
I work for a company where the development manager expects a developer to create test cases before writing any code. These test cases have to then be maintained by the developers. Every-so-often a ...
4
votes
5answers
739 views
How to improve myself as a web developer?
What technologies, techniques and mindsets would be most beneficial to web developers?
I'm a relatively new developer with only 3 months working for an actual web development company. Since I've ...
4
votes
1answer
217 views
Should I store “system b” password in “system a”?
I am developing a system for mailing which has a account id/password to login and I need to store the smtp server account and password for sending mail. Since the mail is auto send I can't request the ...
3
votes
9answers
551 views
Should architect or dev lead tell teammate where to add their code before coding a new feature?
I have experienced with two kinds of team. After a feature is assigned to me, one kind of dev lead tell me the exact file or class to add my code, another kind of team just say the story or ...
3
votes
4answers
333 views
Where do I find experienced programmer who are interested in opensource works?
I am working on an opensource PHP framework, which I think will be a big hit (fingers crossed).
I want to collaborate with a few (open-source enthusiast) developers who have already worked on ...
3
votes
3answers
565 views
Intern Screening - Software 'Quiz'
I am in charge of selecting a new software development intern for a company that I work with. I wanted to throw a little 'quiz' at the applicants before moving forth with interviews so as to weed out ...
3
votes
1answer
315 views
How to prevent my executable being treated from AV like bad or virus?
I'm creating a piece of software, that will run on windows and will act like launcher for the game, to serve as an auto-updater and file verifier in client siede PC.
One thing I don't understand, why ...
3
votes
1answer
381 views
How to sell my work?
I'm a freelancer, a company I'm working with (which has a government as customer) asked me to write an app (web-based and/or system) to allow them archiving documents, and making them downloadable by ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
Methods to encourage good behaviour when using shared servers?
This question was prompted by a comment left on another question pointing to this article.
What Is Clean Code?
I was thinking about how that sentiment can be applied to shared resources (servers, ...
3
votes
3answers
279 views
Web developer to software engineer [closed]
I'm currently a web developer building web apps in PHP and Javascript. I really enjoy the programming aspect more so than the front end design side of things. I would to like to start to focus my ...
2
votes
15answers
2k views
Where to find Developers to work for a Start-Up with the pay being shares [closed]
So I'm literally just starting a start-up in the Education Industry. A very broad summary that leaves out the vast majority of the idea is that it's a true education management system, one that ...
2
votes
7answers
335 views
Should developers be worried about automation that make them redundant eventually? [closed]
Should developers be worried about possible automation happening in their projects that might make them redundant ? I never particularly worried about this myself but I have seen many developers ...
2
votes
10answers
3k views
Tablets Running IDEs [closed]
I am new to the tablet market, but i am trying to learn more. Are any current tablets capable of running programming software such as Visual Studio? I understand they'd have to come up with some ...
2
votes
5answers
280 views
Is there a way for developers and their clients to make a 'safety net' for the final transaction of software for money?
First off, we presume that the projects in question are not large or important enough for the parties involved to establish a formal contract, and that the parties are not able to meet in person.
So, ...
2
votes
4answers
638 views
Software design methods for Java or any other programming language
I'm junior programmer and I would like to know how professionals write their code or which steps they follow when they are creating new software. I mean, which steps they follow, which programming ...
