Yes, and No. Saying things out loud doesn't always make you a dick just like not saying them doesn't make them go away.
I agree with the author in that there are ways to phrase things, and saying things like "50% of programmers should find another profession" may be arrogant, on the other hand, I have come across several programmers (even tech leads and "architects") who are really really bad programmers. A lot of these people are in for the pay-check, and the fact that there is very little accountability in a lot of organizations ensures that they will continue to do what they do (badly, if I may add) without no reason or incentive to improve.
As long as things "work", slap code anywhere with no care of encapsulation. Duplicate code as long as you get to commit code before its time to go home. Methods are 400 lines long, nothing in terms of unit-tests, and when there are unit tests, printlns are the way to test code, because asserts are too advanced (I am _not_ making this up).
I am mostly a self-taught programmer, and am always feeling like the finger is pointed at me when I read blogs about those 50%. But guess what, I do what I can do to improve. Write lots of code (outside of work), read blogs and opinions of people who are considered "heroes", read open-source, read books about software development, learn new languages, read books on algorithms and data-structures, what-have-you.
And I have to sit and deal with the code of people who are writing code that is really really bad (I have dealt with projects where the language used is Java 5, yet no one uses generics, enums, etc because they never looked at the new language features!). Should I be complaining, absolutely? Do I need to be harsh about it, no. Shaming other programmers is not the way to go about it, but honestly, if someone pointed out something stupid that I did (which there are countless instances), I feel humility, but I also feel good in that the person thought I was worthy of a healthy discussion, and open-minded enough to be critiqued while not being insulted. Its a learning experience, and everyone is in it together.
As much as programming the profession needs improvement, so do HR and management when dealing with programmers.
How often do managers make the project worse? How often does HR ask for people with 10 years of experience on a 2yr old language?
Like every other profession, there are different levels of skill & talent. Usually we deal with this via differing salaries, technical incentives, and placements in various teams. Software development still needs some work in these areas.
I agree with the author in that there are ways to phrase things, and saying things like "50% of programmers should find another profession" may be arrogant, on the other hand, I have come across several programmers (even tech leads and "architects") who are really really bad programmers. A lot of these people are in for the pay-check, and the fact that there is very little accountability in a lot of organizations ensures that they will continue to do what they do (badly, if I may add) without no reason or incentive to improve.
As long as things "work", slap code anywhere with no care of encapsulation. Duplicate code as long as you get to commit code before its time to go home. Methods are 400 lines long, nothing in terms of unit-tests, and when there are unit tests, printlns are the way to test code, because asserts are too advanced (I am _not_ making this up).
I am mostly a self-taught programmer, and am always feeling like the finger is pointed at me when I read blogs about those 50%. But guess what, I do what I can do to improve. Write lots of code (outside of work), read blogs and opinions of people who are considered "heroes", read open-source, read books about software development, learn new languages, read books on algorithms and data-structures, what-have-you.
And I have to sit and deal with the code of people who are writing code that is really really bad (I have dealt with projects where the language used is Java 5, yet no one uses generics, enums, etc because they never looked at the new language features!). Should I be complaining, absolutely? Do I need to be harsh about it, no. Shaming other programmers is not the way to go about it, but honestly, if someone pointed out something stupid that I did (which there are countless instances), I feel humility, but I also feel good in that the person thought I was worthy of a healthy discussion, and open-minded enough to be critiqued while not being insulted. Its a learning experience, and everyone is in it together.
Sorry for the long rant.