in reply to Value of "RE"-coding for the newbie
I remember a mentor of mine once saying "A lazy System's Administrator makes the best System's Administrator". I don't know if I agree with all of the reasoning behind it but there is some truth to it. You see the lazy Sys Admin is the guy (or gal) who makes the system work entirely for them. They do as much programming up front to accomplish those things that normally they would have to do on a day to day basis. The result is the time that they saved they can spend doing their "lazy" task.
This is going somewhere, trust me..
We all grow as we "learn" and "USE" the language on a day to day basis. Those that grow are those that use what they have learned and are pushing for more. Here is the part that I am going to get flamed over: But those who stay children are those who don't understand the language and are looking for the "quick" way out by pirating code examples with no intention of understand its method. The result is a short life'd programmer (I give too much credit here) who creates a mess for someone else to clean up. These are the ones who are only satisfied with the result, though most of the time blinded by the result itself.
I think your comments here are well said and I think it should promote a sense of striving for the next level. Wanting to "RE-code the original" is a true sign of a programmer (even a newbie in the language). It is a mark that seems to be somewhat fading in a SUPER-FAST Paced society.
I think I am going to pull some of my old code out. It is time for a change. It is time to apply what I have learned over the years to yesterday's code. I wonder if they will let me do that and not work on my projects today?
As always in humble regards.
Doug