Rick McKay

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since Feb 26, 2001
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Recent posts by Rick McKay

I too am a dropout, but I'm not so enthusiastic about getting back into the cattle drive.
I have a few reasons for this -- maybe you can convince me to change my mind.
My main reason is that the nitpicking is just that: too nit-picky. I want to learn Java, but I'm a professional and don't have time to email in my code, wait 3 or 4 days, then get back a huge list of niggling suggestions about my code, most of which are pretty much trivial, and don't really assist me much in attaining the goal of learning Java (IMHO). The emphasis on style is way out of proportion. In addition, many of the nitpicks are VERY debatable -- and I didn't come here to worry about stuff like that.
I've programmed in several languages, starting in about 1983: BASIC, Pascal, C, C++, assembly, VB, Perl, and Java (learned in that order). From the start I was fairly well-trained, and I write well-organized code as a result. I still have plenty of room for improvement, but I think this overall assessment of myself is accurate. I don't really need training on coding style. I don't have a problem if someone says to me, "We usually do it this way in [Language X]," but I won't necessarily use that style -- although I think *I'm* more likely to use it than most (meaning 80-90% of all software developers out there, I'm guessing).
At present I primarily code in Perl, and enjoy it immensely. There's tremendous freedom and flexibility, and it's easy to get stuff done. However, I'm learning Java for a number of reasons. Having roots in C/C++, I'm quite comfortable with Java. I bought Just Java 2 upon recommendation from this site, and I've gone through the first 5 chapters or so this week.
I've been a little turned off by the book. As long as the author sticks to the fundamentals of Java, he seems to do fine. I've read better books, but this one is decent. But the hype about Java, combined with some inaccuracies about Perl and C, really make me take his non-technical comments with a grain of salt.
Maybe this is all just me. Maybe most people need the nitpicking. I just want to learn how to write code. Maybe this site is too elementary for me? Am I missing some point here? Maybe you can convince me otherwise.
If you're willing to reply, and it's not too much trouble, please CC: me via email as well, or at least let me know you responded, as I've been having trouble accessing this site the past few days: ramckay@freeport.com
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AIM: perljavageek
22 years ago
BTW, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to afford Just Java right now. Any problem with just diving into the assignments anyhow?
23 years ago
Just a quick post to say hello to everyone here. I'm a C/C++ programmer currently doing Perl development.
I have a feeling I'm *really* not gonna like the nitpicking, since I've been doing Perl for a while now, and as you may or may not know, Perl's unofficial motto is "TMTOWTDI" (pronounced "tim toady"), which is of course an acronym for "There's more than one way to do it."
This is surely the case in Java as well (as it is in all programming), although surely not to the level that Perl takes it.
About me: Soccer is what I love the most. Catch me over at www.bigsoccer.com as ramckay. I'm there *a lot*.
23 years ago