As I’m always trying to find better ways to use my time, I started to listen to audio books instead of music when I’m at the gym. It didn’t change my motivation at all to perform, and it will give me the opportunity to learn more from books while I’m getting healthier. I also try once in a while to find new interesting podcasts, so I listened for the first time to the Big Web Show from Jeffrey Zeldman. I didn’t go in order as I wanted to start with the episode of Lea Verou, since I’ve been following her for a while.
Overall, it was a good episode, and I think I may be a frequent listener to this podcast: I’ll listen to another two-three episodes to see if it’s for me. It’s always interesting to see how industry leaders are thinking, what was their journey, and what’s next for them. One thing surprised me: Lea Verou mentioned at least one time, that it was embarrassing that she learned or developed with a technology X. If I’m not mistaken, I think one of her examples was about Visual Basic. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been a huge fan of Visual Basic, but it was there, still there, and largely used a couple of years ago. There is also no relation to the fact that I’m a former Microsoftie. I’m a big believer in the fact that any programming languages are good: they may not fit all your needs, the needs of the customers, may not be the best choice, but they are, however, programming languages. No matter how simple or not they are, you still had to learn them, learn how to code, and how to create stuff with them. For me, there is no shame in it, at all! There are no cool programming languages, nor bad ones. Of course, I have preferences, and when I’m mentoring someone, I always try to help understand the pros, and cons of what they are looking for.
I did Java development for years, and it was the only programming languages I wanted to do. Is there any shame about this, even if Java is clearly not the choice of developers these days? No, because I learned a lot with this language, and I built some amazing stuff, like an online collaborative drawing tool, and a welding simulator. I also remember that at the beginning, thirteen years ago, I didn’t want to work with the Web at all, and look at me today, I’m all about Web. For me, belittle programming languages you used, is like not loving someone because he likes a music group I don’t love… Yes, very bad analogy, but you get the point! It’s good for all part of your life: we make experience, we fail, we get back on our feets, we learn, and everything is part of our journey. These programming languages you learned in the past are also part of your developer’s journey, and you should be proud of it!
What are the programming languages you learned? Is there any you are not saying out loud? Do you think I make a mountain out of nothing? Should we be ashamed of what we learn as developers if it’s not cool enough? Share your thoughts!
