I guess a discussion of semantics could go on forever and we would never reach a consensus. There are just too many titles in this field to try to figure out what they all mean, as far as the general public is concerned. These are the people we deal with, right?

Some people that I deal with in the industry seem to want to label me a vertical application developer, custom software developer, solution provider,software consultant....the list goes on.

When a potential client calls me, it is usually because someone told him I was a good programmer and the work I did for them was professional, solved their problems, improved their productivity and efficiency, etc. So, if someone asks me what I do for a living I usually answer, Programmer. Most of the general public seem to recognize this term as having to do with making computers work.

In the above context, when did I become a good programmer? I don't know. I do know that after I had analyzed the requirements of my first job, wrote and delivered the code and the client happily wrote me a check, I considered myself to be a programmer. Some may say I was a developer because I "developed" the project from start to finish by myself.

Somewhere along the line, I found that I was confident that I could go into most any business and produce a software solution for their problem(s). They (the client) thought I was a good programmer. I really wasn't! I go back occasionally and look at some of that old code and it was really bad! It worked, but I wouldn't show it to another programmer and admit I wrote it.

The points are:
We all have different abilities; develop different skills; and, learn at different rates. So some of us are beginners, good, better and then there are the Guru's.

Will I ever be a Guru? No, definitely not. I appreciate that you Guru's are out there on the UT, willing to share and help us "good" and beginner programmers though. I've been on my own for many years so when the Internet came to Ozark country and I found the UT, it was like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow.

You all have helped me to evolve to become a better programmer(developer?). Thanks.


>I disagree here. I've been a 'programmer' for 17 years and a 'developer' for about 5 years. I had one member of my staff in my previous job who had recently left University and been a 'developer' for just over one year. He was easily as good as me and much better in some areas. He agreed that he lacked the xBase experience that I had but as for the development aspect, he was hot!
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>There is absolutely no time based rules that anybody can come up with as to how long you need to be programming or developing or anything else before you can be classed as a good 'developer'. I give talks to user groups, some of the people in the audience have been around much longer than myself!
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>>I'll take a different 'angle' from the rest Martin. If you're talking about strictly a 'programmer' and not a 'developer' then after a couple of good years of learning the style and discipline of coding a person *could* be a good programmer. Becomming a 'developer' takes a bit longer because experience takes time. I'd say a minimum of 7 years experience in general business and maybe 2-3 years experience in a specific field could make you a good developer.
>>Programming and Developing are very different and are often confused.
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>>I started 'programming' at 14 (remember the Commodore PET and 64?) and started 'developing' at 20. I'm still trying to get good at both. ;-)
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>>Good luck and keep asking questions!
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>>- A Hilton