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From the author of
INFORMIT C++ Reference Guide
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Danny Kalev, the author of ANSI/ISOProfessional Programmer's
Handbookand The Informit C++ ReferenceGuide: Techniques, Insight,
andPractical Advice on C++, shares someadvice for programmers who
arelooking to develop their professionalskills.
Be sure to check InformIT for a new articleevery Wednesday. See
more advice fromother programmers here.
Name:Danny Kalev
Job Experience:I have been programming since 1988. I started to
program on a DEC VAX 11/750 machine which eventhen was considered
an antique. However, it was a great way to learn programming
because itsupported various programming languages such as PL/1
(which I still like), DCL (DEC's proprietaryscripting language),
Fortran and laterC. In the mid 1990s, I joined a huge porting
project thatconverted the Israeli Interior Office National Registry
database to a modern, client-server architecture.It was one of the
earliest projects that used C++ (in 1994). I then moved to several
new startups thatfocused on multimedia streaminga hot topic in the
late 1990s. After that, I became self-employed. Ihave written three
C++ books, and started a weekly C++ column on Informit in 2003 that
ran for morethan nine years. Today I'm a consultant for several IT
firms. My main fields of expertise have remainedC++ and
object-oriented design. I also give lectures on these topics.
Most Notable Achievements:
The Israeli Chamber of System Analysts' Award for Excellence in
2000, after publishing myANSI/ISO Professional Programmer's
Handbook.
Master's degree summa cum laude in linguistics in 2004.
The publication of The Informit C++ Reference Guide in a book
format.
Most Frequently Used Programming Language:C++
Advice:When I write new C++ code today, I realize how much
different the same program would have lookedlike only a couple of
years ago. That's because C++ is changing fast, even after 30 years
of existence.But it's not only the changes in the C++ standard that
affect my C++ code. We, as programmers, learnall the time how to
improve our practices. These two factors language changes and
skillimprovementsrequire constant reading.
If you want to be a good programmer, you must dedicate much of
your time reading C++ magazines,new books of leading authors,
subscribing to professional discussion groups and forums,
andcommunicating with your colleagues. Learning is a constant
process that never ends. Apart from theexposure to new programming
techniques and design idioms, reading professional material
alsoteaches you accurate technical terminology. For example, the
canonical four (constructor, destructor,copy assignment operator,
and assignment operator) are formally known as the special
memberfunctions. Likewise, C++ doesn't have methodsit only has
member functions so I always find myselfpuzzled at folks who still
speak of methods and properties, when neither of these exists in
C++. It's not
"The Best Programming Advice I Ever Got" withDanny Kalev
By Danny KalevJul 25, 2012
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From the author ofINFORMIT C++ Reference Guide
Discussions
4 comments
Discussion Community "
Reply
"without accurate, professional, and uniform terminology you
wouldn't beable to read the online documentary of your
compiler"
This is true. What's also true is that it's called
"documentation", not "documentary".Terminology is important
jackj 2 months ago
6 1
Reply Thanks for pointing out the typo, jackj. It's been
fixed.JenEditor a month ago
1
Reply
What is this? A whole week after I pointed out the typo and
nobody evenbothered to correct it?
While we're on the subject, this was supposed to be about "The
Best ProgrammingAdvice I Ever Got". Kalev doesn't mention any
advice he got.
jackj a month ago
3 2
Reply Is it worth being here ?Cuong Huy To 13 days ago
0
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hair-splitting or bigotrywithout accurate, professional, and
uniform terminology you wouldn't be able toread the online
documentation of your compiler, let alone more technical stuff such
as the text of theC++ standard itself.
To conclude, read much more than you write, and stick to high
quality material. Say goodbye to booksthat insult your
intelligence. Instead, aim higher at professional, up-to-date
material. That's the ticket.
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