I read an essay written by Lars Wirzenius in celebration of his 40 years of programming. Lars started his programming journey when he was 14 years old and has been building software till date.
In his early years of programming, Lars was told programming was meant for only young people (the cool kids) and that by 25 years, he'd be too old to write codes. Well... Lars still writes code till date, after 40 years and says he is not stopping any time soon. There are some lessons I picked from his 40 years experience in his essay:
The fundamental, core skills to have as a programmer is communication and collaboration. Team work can be a force multiplier.
To do good work, you have to take care of yourself. If you are tired or are too stressed, you will make mistakes and inevitably, bad decisions.
For every collaboration or team project, governance must be explicit. There must be a clear-cut definition of roles. Uncertainty about power results in confusion and quarrel.
Software development is a political and ethical act. Make sure the software you build resonates with your values.
To build quality software, enable diversity of thought among the people contributing to it.
Mistakes are inevitable. Make room for people's mistakes, and expect that from others too.
Write things down. Writing enables clarity of thoughts.
Learn to have good meetings. Prepare for meetings so you don't waste people's time.
Simplify things as much as you can. Simple, obvious code is easier to write, easier to get to work, and easier to change without breaking it.
Ask for help when you need it or get stuck. Accept help when offered.
I hope this helped.
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