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What kind of software developers are here?


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What kind of software developers are here?
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PhenixReborn
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-22, 20:55

I'm just curious to know what kind of software developers frequent this forum? I know a lot of the members have some programming experince, but I'm curious to know who does it for a living, what languages they use, and what they focus on mostly.

As for me and my world, I'm currently developing a data management program using C# and XML.

For those who are curious, I'm using C# because a requirement from my boss is that it work on any Windows version and he doesn't care about OS X or Linux. Also, it doesn't involve any type of DBMS (like SQL Server or MySQL), just XML files and correlating info from them.

If anyone wants to elaborate on their languages (most of least favorites) please do!
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wyvern
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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2004-07-22, 21:13

I like (and use or have used):
php
c
obj-c
java
mathematica's language
assorted shells
(and of course... SQL, HTML, CSS, JS or should I say LiveScript)
regex and text processors (grep, sed, awk... mmmm, awk)

I do not like:
Matlab. Ugh. So vile.
Mathematica's programming environment
most things written in java
python (haven't used it much, but I didn't like what I saw)

If you're just doing XML parsing, C# seems like an odd choice, but as long as it has good regex support I suppose it would work.
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PhenixReborn
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-22, 21:15

Actually, it works well because I designed the layout of the XML files (and entered the data myself). Most of the data requests are hard-coded after checking for the file and opening it sucessfully. Also, all the input is from comboboxes or select lists. Since it's all controlled, there's no need for expression checking. However, I should state that C# has an extensive regex implementation. Really, C# rocks as long as you don't want to port out of Windows anything you write
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wyvern
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2004-07-22, 21:23

Well, I guess that works. Still, I think I'd rather go with Java for a task like that. But, your job and your boss.
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PhenixReborn
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-22, 21:37

I seriously thought about Java at first. The only reason I didn't go with it is because he wants some eye candy for the customers and C# is easier and faster (since its an MS language of course )
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2004-07-22, 21:38

I've got mostly C++ and Java experience under my belt. I can read and write some x86 assembly if you hold me at gunpoint. I started to learn and wrote a few small apps in Cocoa a few years ago, but I've forgotten most of it. I just picked up a Cocoa book from the university library and hope to re-teach myself the basics of Obj-C if I have some spare time this summer.

For the web, I can write HTML and XHTML (no-brainers), a good bit of PHP, and some fun SQL queries.

Of course, if you want to go *way* back, I can try to find some of my old HyperCard stacks. Man, THOSE were the days.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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Willoughby
New Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: over there
 
2004-07-22, 22:13

I've been doing software development professionally for 8 years now. I've used VB, VBScript/ASP, Java, JSP, PHP, CGI/PERL, SQL and now C#. Not to mention all the other languages I've learned on my own or while earning my BS in CS.

I love PHP and MySQL but my current job is all .NET/C# and SQL Server. I don't mind it that much because C# is a great language but I really wish I could use a Mac at work. (mono is not an option just yet).

My company is also paying for me to get my MCAD (ms certified application developer). I'm glad they're paying but I'm not looking forward to the tests. I hate tests.
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wyvern
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2004-07-22, 22:15

Quote:
Originally Posted by PhenixReborn
I seriously thought about Java at first. The only reason I didn't go with it is because he wants some eye candy for the customers and C# is easier and faster (since its an MS language of course )
It's pretty easy to get about 80% of the performance of C with Java. And with file parsing, your bottleneck is disk access, not numbercrunching. Losing all cross-platform compatibility is a pretty big price to pay for eye-candy.
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Barto
Student extraordinaire
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canberra, Australia
 
2004-07-22, 23:52

I can write web pages. I'm l33t at Python. I'm learning Java and C#.

You boss is insane by the way: if you want a program to be compatible between different versions of Windows then .NET is NOT the way to do it... I don't know if the .NET framework even runs on Windows 9*.

Barto

The sky was deep black; Jesus still loved me. I started down the alley, wailing in a ragged bass.
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feend
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Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2004-07-23, 04:01

Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use regular expressions." Now they have two problems. -- jwz
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wyvern
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2004-07-23, 05:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by feend
Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use regular expressions." Now they have two problems. -- jwz
But armed with J. Friedl's book, you then have zero problems.
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PhenixReborn
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-23, 07:43

Quote:
Originally Posted by Barto
You boss is insane by the way: if you want a program to be compatible between different versions of Windows then .NET is NOT the way to do it... I don't know if the .NET framework even runs on Windows 9*.
The deal with the .NET framework is actaully a rather intelligent move on the part of MS. Instead of trying to tell developers what they need to change and when just to make their programs work with Win 9x or NT or 2000 or XP, the developers can just include the .NET redist package with their installer. The redist package contains the libraries and a copy of the CLR (C-Language Runtime), which means that any computer with ANY version of Windows as old as Win95 can be setup to run your .NET program. The entire purpose of .NET is to make it easy on developers to develop for all Windows platforms without worrying about compatability. It's nice, really.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wyvern
It's pretty easy to get about 80% of the performance of C with Java. And with file parsing, your bottleneck is disk access, not numbercrunching. Losing all cross-platform compatibility is a pretty big price to pay for eye-candy.
Oh, I ain't no fool. I know that with what I'm doing, Java would work just as well without much drop in speed and response. The biggest reason I'm using C# is that he wants the software to look similar to the XP interface and MS was kind enough to make those items available in a couple libraries in the .NET framework. Of course, then it was a choice between VC++ and VC#.....hmmm.....yeah, right, no way I'm spending time on VC++ unless I have to. (And don't even mention using VJ++ ::shudder:: )

P.S. Think it's possible to make a smiley that shudders?
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dfiler
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Pittsburgh
 
2004-07-23, 14:30

Shhh. Don't tell any one but...

I write in jBASIC, developing terminal applications for accesing our company's database. jBASIC is translated into C and then compiled. It is used by some industries which were early database adopters. (Shipping industries, manufactures, POS systems, and international banking) It is used in conjuction with the various flavors of multi-value databases. These all evolved from Pick and McDonald Douglas's REALITY system of the early 80s.

Also, I use shell scripting extensively for automating daily tasks. Does that count as programming?

Hell, just setting up rsync for backups and knut for UPS monitoring is almost like programming... just without the flow control.
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thuh Freak
Finally broke the seal
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-07-24, 10:32

i'm teh best kind of software developer: hungover and late. at work i do c# and vb.net, with a lot of mssql server tie ins. mostly web (asp.net) stuff, though some exes. plus whenever ms comes out with some new program, my bosses go "hey, why dont we throw this at [thuhFreak] and make him learn it. never mind the fact that he has to finish those other huge projects we gave him last week, and we'll probably never actually use this shit. 2 hours is plenty of time to learn this huge fucking prorgram. if not, he could research it on his freetime. and after he figures out all its shortcomings, we can have him write a competitive version from scratch. yea, thats the ticket." used to do some asp, before teh .net craise. somehow i became a go to guy for excel, and access sometimes too. basically anythign with a microsoft stamp on it.

at home i caress my sweet beautiful g3, running gnu/linux. i been doing vb (and its variants) professionally for a few years now, and i have never had to do a professional project in c, but i'd say my skill level at c is way higher than vb/cs/ms... c is my favorite. i think in c. least favorite: vba, particularly with msaccess. god i hate that program. i read recently that you can use *.net with office apps, and i started doing some of that.
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dfj225
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-25, 17:56

I'm currently a CS major and right now the language I use the most is C++. I also know some PHP and a little Perl. I will probably have to learn Java this fall, I heard that some people like it better than C++. I haven't used C#, but I have heard some good things about it. I have only been using a OS X for development for about a month, but I can really say that it seems like a great system to develop for. I really like how you can just include a framework in the project and not have to worry about the compiler having access to it. MS Visual Studio is a nice program, but I can't figure out for the life of me what I am doing wrong when I try to compile a program that needs the GLUT headers. Oh well. Xcode is a nice program, and I enjoy programming in it. I haven't done much with Cocoa, but it seems like it is a pretty easy technology to use. Hopefully I will be doing more coding in OS X in the future (I just bought an iBook for home), and I love the fact that Unix is there if I choose to utilize it. That adds a lot to OS X.
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Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-07-25, 22:13

Finishing up my PhD in software engineering and language theory, so I'm a bit of a geek. Just a bit.

Lessee, um... in more or less chronological order over 22 years...

Logo, BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN66, 6508 assembler, Ada, LISP, csh, C, OOP-C, Eiffel, C++, tcsh, APL, Smalltalk, x86 assembler, PPC assembler, FORTRAN77, NewtonScript, Dylan, Objective-C, Python, Ruby, C#

For applications:

Teaching systems, high-speed disk striping system (to VCRs... don't ask), sonar simulations for Navy, Petri Net implementation of web (Marc Andreesen, you screwed it up for the rest of us *so* badly you twit), military flight simulators, FaceTop, and my latest baby, my dissertation: SPQR, which finds instances of design patterns in OO source code, regardless of application domain, OS, language, or compiler.

Wow, I can't seem to hold down a job, eh?
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2004-07-26, 15:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha
Finishing up my PhD in software engineering and language theory, so I'm a bit of a geek. Just a bit.

Lessee, um... in more or less chronological order over 22 years...

Logo, BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN66, 6508 assembler, Ada, LISP, csh, C, OOP-C, Eiffel, C++, tcsh, APL, Smalltalk, x86 assembler, PPC assembler, FORTRAN77, NewtonScript, Dylan, Objective-C, Python, Ruby, C#

For applications:

Teaching systems, high-speed disk striping system (to VCRs... don't ask), sonar simulations for Navy, Petri Net implementation of web (Marc Andreesen, you screwed it up for the rest of us *so* badly you twit), military flight simulators, FaceTop, and my latest baby, my dissertation: SPQR, which finds instances of design patterns in OO source code, regardless of application domain, OS, language, or compiler.

Wow, I can't seem to hold down a job, eh?
That SPQR thing looks interesting. Unfortunately, your website for it has lots of Big Words, and my Big Word quota has already been met by the class I'm about to take an exam for. (The class is "Programming Languages")

When I was a kid, people who did wrong were punished, restricted, and forbidden. Now, when someone does wrong, all of the rest of us are punished, restricted, and forbidden... and the one who did the wrong is counselled and "understood" and fed ice cream.
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Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-07-26, 16:39

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave
That SPQR thing looks interesting. Unfortunately, your website for it has lots of Big Words, and my Big Word quota has already been met by the class I'm about to take an exam for. (The class is "Programming Languages")
*laugh* Well all you really need to know is that it finds design pattern instances in your source code, regardless of your OO language, and does so even if the design patterns weren't explicitly put in there - if you happened to make one through good design principles, it'll find it. Or, if you have a design pattern instance that's hidden and scattered throughout your code, but it acts just like that design pattern should, it'll find it.

It makes documenting systems much easier, and training new developers much faster. It also give some really good clues as to refactoring plans, if you want to make hidden design patterns more explicit, for instance.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make it *work*...

Last edited by Kickaha : 2004-07-26 at 16:48.
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