The hidden corner of codefarming: five things that developers hate most

　　 author | Patrick Zawadzki

　　 translator | Li Tenghui

　　 Reviser | Noe

　　 As a profession, software development has shown explosive development in the past few years , And with the popularization of introductory training and continuous cross industry penetration , Now is really a good time to be a developer . However , Behind the brilliance of software engineering , There is also a less charming side . If you want to enter the software development industry like me , So you're investing a lot of time 、 Energy and money , Maybe it's time to learn some cruel truth .

　　 indeed , There are good and bad sides to any job , But what I want to say is , If you have 70% Enjoy your work for the above time , So you have a great job . As far as I'm concerned , I love development work , But I still want to point out that 30% The annoying part , Those recurring problems are really devastating .

　　 as time goes on , Any job will expose many problems , But in the field of software development , There are certain problems that have been recurring throughout my career . Next , Let me talk about what I hate most as a developer 5 thing （ In no particular order ）.

1. Debug code problems that are not under your control

　　 No one wants to bug. in the final analysis ,bug A logic hidden in a line of code , Such as skipping a step or adjusting a wrong method . In all types of bug in , This can be located to a specific location through context debugging bug It is the best one to repair , Because we can find him and fix it . However, those introduced from third-party repositories bug Well ？

　　 As a developer , Debugging code that you can't easily access is more challenging and disruptive . Maybe this is a library you introduced yourself , But because the library has been compressed or compiled , Make readability extremely poor . So if this library is open source , Is it worth celebrating ？ Not always , And open source library bug Is often the most difficult to deal with . You need to spend extra time designing the environment to isolate and reproduce this bug, So you can send the problem to the owner of the open source library , And hope they can repair it according to your schedule .

　　 Many teams have to face these problems , You can alleviate this by choosing open source projects or local solutions , But if there is no choice , You have to bite the bullet .

2. Maintain an old project without any documentation

　　 imagine , You are a well-trained 、 Experienced survival experts , Decided to join a similar wild solitude (Alone） The reality show . You have invested thousands of hours in this field , Is an expert in this kind of work , And have many successful experiences . What's different is that , This season you will be randomly selected and put into an environment you don't know . According to experience , To survive , You need to know where you're going , What is it like there , Maybe there are some successful ways ; You need to know why you need to bring something , How they are used , Maybe we should learn from some experienced partners ; You need to know what works , What is invalid , There may be some unique trading skills . however , This time it's different , You don't know the above information , This will challenge your skill limits to the greatest extent .

　　 Take over a new project as a developer , No background information , There are no colleagues who can ask questions , It is very similar to the upgraded version of living alone in the wilderness above . The problem with software development is , There are many ways to solve the problem , The reason why people choose this scheme is systematic and deeply discussed . In a project without any background information or helpers , You may encounter many seemingly strange designs , And it's hard to understand why this design . Is it because developers are lazy ？ It is also an alternative to catch up with the schedule ？ Or because external constraints force such design and coding ？ It's impossible to know , Everything drifted away like a floating cloud . For all that , As a developer , You want to get results , You need to know how to complete the task in this situation .

　　 Unfortunately , This kind of project will make many developers at a loss , And breed disgust , This kind of project started slowly , It's like blindly exploring minefields . This is why well styled code and up-to-date documentation are so important . If you are reading this article , Whether you are already a developer or are about to become a developer , Please try to document it in your code , Especially those strange logic , So when the next person takes over , Whether or not you can provide answers , It will be easier for him to understand .

3. People who don't understand software development give directions

　　 The main members of the software team include software developers 、 Project manager and product leader , Sometimes the project manager and the product owner are the same person , So in the final analysis, there must be two kinds of people , One class is responsible for coding implementation , One is responsible for conceiving the product they want . in the majority of cases , The latter will convene a meeting of stakeholders 、 Create a time schedule and sell the product to others .

　　 The relationship between these two types of people is critical to the success of the project , Sometimes it's important for developers to have fun on the team . Most of the time , Developers are seen as " Code the agriculture ", Demand is pushed to them without thinking , There was not much discussion , Sometimes there are unrealistic deadline. These will cause the product to go online in a hurry , Unable to meet expectations , Eventually, the product fails , Because it doesn't run as smoothly as planned and often breaks down .

　　 For developers , Can find a team , Work in harmony with the project manager or product owner , Not only for the success of the product , At the same time, it also increases the fun of the work itself .

4. Lack of uninterrupted time

      There are many great jobs that require the role of developer , Most developers also value their work . The most addictive part of being a developer is , It can quickly turn the flash of inspiration into reality through coding . Another amazing part can be described as " flow "(the flow), That is, deep working state , This is a completely immersive feeling that one experiences in the process of deep work and thinking . This is common in environments that require high productivity and innovation , alike , Many developers need this state to code efficiently .

　　 However , In contemporary work , Time can easily be used for ad hoc meetings or round the clock consultations / Interrupted by a confused message . It's hard to get into a deep working state , But it's easy to be interrupted .

　　 Besides , Software development is a highly individualistic work , This means that after you have been assigned tasks and expectations , Everything else is up to you . However , Due to constant news and meeting interruptions , It's hard to find enough time to get into and stay on the job to complete the task at hand . The key here is the uninterrupted time of the day , Because even if some small things cause you to switch work content, it will also cause losses and affect work efficiency .

　　 Find an uninterrupted time , It is best to 3-4 Hours , Where you can be completely in shape and focus on your work , It's very important . The day was packed with meetings , Or worse , Meeting interval 30-45 minute , This is detrimental to the productivity of many developers .

5. Impostor syndrome

　　 For many programmers , Sooner or later, they will experience some degree of impersonation syndrome in their career . Maybe starting a new project , Join a new team , Or just a sudden bad mood in one day , It makes you doubt yourself and affects your working state all day .

　　 Melim · Webster holds （Merriam Webster） Define impersonation syndrome as ：

　　 A state of mind , Also known as negative tendency of self ability , Specific refers to “ Think you don't deserve the success or achievements you have achieved , Be skeptical of your abilities , Think you're a fake ” The state of .

　　 This is a counterproductive state of mind , Some people often experience and are hard to get rid of , Some people never . But fortunately in the software community , Many people say they have experienced this feeling to varying degrees in their career , And willing to help others .

summary

　　 Software engineering is a great field , For many people, the scenery is boundless , It looks interesting and has endless opportunities . However , Every field and profession has its advantages and disadvantages , Most of the time people only talk about the advantages and ignore the disadvantages , And to be honest , Sometimes the disadvantages outweigh the advantages . Besides, , Honey of a , Second arsenic .

　　 Whatever your situation , I hope to provide some different perspectives for those who are considering joining or are entering the software field . This is not to scare anyone , Just want to let people see some dark side that is not often concerned . After all , It would be much better for you to be aware of these problems than not knowing them at all .

Translator introduction

　　 Li Tenghui ,51CTO Community editor , At present, he is a senior in a Southeast Asian Internet Finance unicorn Java The engineer , Responsible for the architecture design and core construction of the financial lending platform , On the Internet financial architecture 、 The microservice system has been deeply studied , We expect to continue to deepen our efforts in the field of mutual funds .

　　 Original title ：5 things I hate about being a developer

　　 link ：https://thenextweb.com/news/5-things-i-hate-about-being-a-developer