Work with the rate of change in software development

Question

I am primarily a .NET developer, and only in this area at any moment there are probably about a dozen exciting new technologies, some of which are real game changers, which I would love to delve into.

Unfortunately, this seems to go beyond human potential.

I read Rocky Lotka's article (.NET legend, inventor of CSLA, etc.), where he almost incidentally mentioned that last year he felt very terribly overloaded with the speed of change. He sounded as if he might no longer be left on the verge of bleeding, perhaps he was not going to try so hard because it was useless.

It was a surprise to me that real geniuses such as Lhotka (who probably should take a lot of time to play with the latest technology and be able to figure it out quickly) also feel a burn!

So how do you guys handle this? Are you just doing this to the point that development is vast, and more importantly, to find things faster than to learn all this? Or do you have a continuing education strategy that actually allows you to stay closer to the front line?

Answer 1

I have been doing IT for 30 years, so maybe I can offer some perspective. Yes, there is more and more material to keep abreast of. But the speed of change (as in "progress") does not increase - in any case, it decreases. We see expansion expansion .

Take a simple example: there used to be HTML / 1. Then came HTML / 2, and that was progress. Now we have HTML / 4, HTML / 5, XHTML / 1, Flash, Silverlight and more. Any of them is progress, but each progress is in a different direction, and all of them are actively used.

Stay on top of this? Forget it - this is impossible. On the other hand, good IT professionals can pick up a new language or new technology in a few weeks - no matter. Try to pick out really new ideas and learn about them. Ignore all specific technologies (IIS 7, SQL Server 2008, etc.), if and until you need them.

Continuing the Internet as an example, Web 2.0 ideas have become the last true innovation. I took the opportunity to learn Ruby at the same time - I did some small projects with a throw in Ruby on Rails. If a project in this area comes, ideas will be the same in any environment.

One of them is sometimes upset. It is not always easy to choose truly new ideas among all the marketing hype.

All the best...

Brad

Answer 2

Attend conferences and meetings of local user groups, visit twitter, and start with a bunch of people. Join or run the mailing list (google groups is my favorite provider, Yahoo groups aren't that bad) in your area to discuss issues.

Suggest talking to your local DNUG so that someone quickly looks through all these new technologies or, possibly, had an open conversation / lightning conversation where people get up and give 5-10 minutes of their favorite new technology.

In short: go out there and talk and share with people. This is the only way to stay on top of everything. You cannot do this on your own unless you sleep and work.

Answer 3

I am worried about letting the boat pass from time to time, but when I really sit down and learn new hot technologies, I find that this is primarily a new combination of fundamental technologies that I have already seen.

My application should make sure that I am well versed in algorithms, data structures, communication protocols, some technical knowledge and general technical skills.

Answer 4

It's hard not to be tempted to want to know all this, but I try not to delve into anything that is "too new." I seem to end up disappointed that I don’t have many sources. Help. While someone should first take the head of the dive, and I respect these people (I think the life of a beta tester), I just don't think that the responsibility lies with everyone. But if you have the time and patience, then immersion in something new can be very funny. I think this is not a direct answer to your question, but I hope this will give you something to think about.

Answer 5

I say, just choose the edge of a development landscape that captivates you and delves into it. For example, if you enjoy dealing with distributed systems, start reading on the WCF and become an expert on the subject.

I do not think that you can be familiar with everything except a random understanding of technology. It is much better to specialize instead of becoming the jack of all professions, but master no one.

Answer 6

Since I cannot find time to go and stumble or play with new technologies, as a rule, I choose one based on a small amount of information - maybe articles, maybe recommendations from a friend - and then I force myself to use new technologies in the project I'm working on. What got into the current process, I participate in the training of SCSF and CAB . This can be painful and even slow from the very beginning, since you need to run the curve, in the end it usually works in your favor (provided that the technology you choose provides benefits). This is how I learned LINQ, Generics and almost everything else. Choose a technology that is designed to solve a problem that you have better than what you know, and then force yourself to implement it that way.