From: kagel AT quasar DOT bloomberg DOT com
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 15:19:45 -0500
Message-Id: <9702112019.AA02664@quasar.bloomberg.com >
To: nikki AT gameboutique DOT co
Cc: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
In-Reply-To: <5dpgf8$qoo@flex.uunet.pipex.com> (nikki@gameboutique.co)
Subject: Re: Publishing a game
Reply-To: kagel AT dg1 DOT bloomberg DOT com


The following was written:
   > But then again, most programmers aren't in the business for the money.
   > If they are then their programs are way crap most of the time as all
   > commercial stuff is, like music. If you don't code with love for your
   > final product, but just for the money, then it's just another stupid job
   > which results in just another stupid product.

   there's sort of an ironic truth in this. companies have to meet deadlines
   as such the programmers dont tend to care very much about the code, they
   want to produce it fast and get it over and done with. this tends to lead
   to sloppy, bloated, slow code (written under windows as often as not)
   the trouble is, people have to make money to live :)

OK, I was going to let this go but now it has become a thread which is trashing
an honored and honorable profession.  I have been a professional (read well
paid) programmer for over 16 years.  I work with 250 programmers here at
Bloomberg where shoddy work is definitely discouraged.  I have never written
anything that was not the best I could make it.  At Bloomberg we write tight
fast code and strive to continuously make it better.  It is the reason that our
company is continuing to thrive an grow while being faced with increased
competition every year.  We count bug correction time in hours not months.  The
programmers here range in experience from over 25 years to fresh out of school.
New programmers are trained rigorously for several months in what is expected
in the way of form, function, and quality.  Those that cannot produce the
quality do not last long and we have VERY LOW TURNOVER!  This means that there
are a lot of dedicated programmers out there, most of them being paid for what
they do.

Do not go around spouting off about things with which you, obviously, have no
experience!  Poor management and poor work habits are the fault of the
organization and managers and the individual programmers not the profession and
certainly not a symptom endemic to working at programming for a living.

I take umbrage at this thread and respectfully request that it end and further
suggest that the participants try this great profession out for themselves and
see if the mere fact that someone gave them money for their efforts instantly
converted them into slovenly, uncaring automatons creating code as fast as
possible with no thought to quality.

FLAME OFF!

-- 
Art S. Kagel, kagel AT quasar DOT bloomberg DOT com

A proverb is no proverb to you 'till life has illustrated it.  -- John Keats