>>>>But most of the stuff the guys complain about aren't about programmers' incompetence, it's the economics of it. The guys holding the purse strings never understood what they are dealing with, and made all sorts of wrong decisions.
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>>>I've heard that often, but in my experience lousy programmers will made lousy software, no matter what they're told to do.
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>>>
>>>Theoretically dumb management can tell good developers to do dumb things, but the good developers I've worked with have refused to do dumb things and went somewhere where they could do smart things.
>>
>>How do you tell if a programmer is lousy?
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>
>Matthew said it:
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>16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
>17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
>18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
>19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
>20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

As tautologies go, tauter than usual... but Dragan's answer was more practical.