The legacy of the programmer's father—The Ten Commandments of Programming

My father passed away two weeks after I started talking about programming.

I was 22 years old at that time, a senior student who had just completed the graduation project of Bachelor of Aesthetics. And my father is 62 years old, older than most fathers of my age. He had already started working on programming languages ​​at Tennessee Tech University in the 1960s, writing FORTRAN on punch cards. I have to admit that my father is very knowledgeable and knowledgeable.

When I had close contact with programming for the first time, it was like fireworks, instantly dazzling my life. It feels magical and powerful to me, and in many ways more creative and practical than visual design.

When I was home for the holidays, my dad shared his Ten Commandments of Programming. He printed a copy and discussed it with me one by one. It was one of the few discussions about programming that my father and I had before he suddenly left me. Perhaps for this reason, the "Ten Commandments of Programming" is deeply engraved in my mind. Together with my father's voice and appearance that day, it has become my best memory, and it will never change.

Inspired by the book "The Psychology of Computer Programming" first published in 1971, here are the Ten Commandments of Programming summarized by my father:

1. Understand and admit that you will make mistakes.

The key to this is to find out early before publishing. Fortunately, unless you're developing rocket guidance software at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, errors are rarely fatal. Therefore, after making mistakes, we can learn from them, maintain a positive attitude, and continue to move forward and make progress.

2. No one is a saint, and no one can make mistakes.

The purpose of reviewing code is to find problems. However, if there are any omissions, the blame cannot be placed on a certain person and directed against him.

3. There are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the world.

There must be a teacher among the three of us. Asking a good teacher will benefit you a lot. You must learn to listen to the opinions and suggestions of others, especially when you think it is unnecessary, and you must accept the advice of others with a humble attitude and a broad mind.

4. Think twice when refactoring code.

There is an essential difference between "fixing code" and "refactoring code". After careful consideration, if you still want to pursue changes in the framework style during code review instead of improving along the original path, then refactor.

5. Respect others, be patient and courteous to everyone.

Non-technical people who often interact with developers often feel that programmers are arrogant, bad-tempered and bad-tempered. Don't let your anger and impatience make this image grow in their minds.

6. The only constant in the world is change.

Accept changes with an open mind and a smile. Treat every change in requirements, platforms, and tools as a new challenge rather than an annoyance to resist.

7.True authority comes from knowledge, not position.

Knowledge creates authority, and authority brings respect - so if you want to gain the respect of others in the computer field, go learn.

8. Fight for what you believe in, and then accept failure gracefully.

Sometimes our ideas are rejected. Even if we later find out we were right, we should not harbor resentment or say something like, “I told you this would happen a long time ago and I still don’t believe it.” Don't let this create a gap between the team, don't worry about this little thing and complain often.

9. Don’t be the “programmer in the corner”.

Don’t be that person who hides in an inconspicuous corner of the office and only comes out when ordering food. Programmers who hide in corners are often short-sighted, isolated, and out of touch with everyone. They will be invisible and not express any opinions. Therefore, participate in everyone's discussions and become a coordinating member of the office group.

10. You can criticize the code, but you can't attack personally.

You should be friendly to every programmer, but be sharp and to the point when pointing out problems. Our criticism should be as positive as possible and aimed at improving the code, not without purpose. At the same time, local standards, procedural specifications, improved performance, etc. should also be considered.

I still have this copy of "The Ten Commandments of Programming". As mentioned above, I grew into an excellent programmer. Sometimes when I encounter difficulties, I can't help but think, if my father was still alive, what advice would he give me? Although this has become a delusion, I believe that my dear father will be proud of me for always remembering these ten commandments.

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