[matt4077]

That's quite a romanticized stereotype of a mechanic. It's also the wrong analogy. The computer, in that analogy, is his tool. It may be the "best for the job", but the mechanic isn't usually mucking around in its internals. When the hydraulic ramp is broken, he calls someone.

There is absolutely no need for someone writing software to ever open up his computer, or to compile the kernel they're running natively (if you're actually working at kernel-level, you'll do most of it in VMs). All that stuff can be fun, no doubt. But it's your hobby, and really no reason to feel like a superior "professional" vs. the lower classes of "prosumers".

[pavelludiq]

True about the kernel, but I've recompiled many of my tools(for example linux repos sometimes provide outdated versions of packages and I need something newer). I often dig in source if I find bugs, or under-documented areas, sometimes I just want to know what is really happening. True, that doesn't make people who don't do that any less "pro", but it does make me sharper as a practitioner. I earn a deeper knowledge about my tools and my environment and occasionally pick up good ideas, or learn some horrible truth about a beloved tool. Programming is fairly unique in the sense that our tools and our products are made of essentially the same stuff. At the very least I consider this a form of exercise worth practicing on a regular basis. It's not strictly work, and not strictly a hobby.

[mping]

My point is that the fact that you need to recompile a kernel or do some pkg install to get (for example) a machine that supports 32gb is never an excuse NOT to get it. And people do open their laptops (ex: upgrade from HDD to SSD) or install new kernels (ex: docker support).

Don't take my post as a superior class claim. If I say I am a pro, and I say I need 32 gb I go and get it. Don't care if I have to spend a day installing arch because 32gb are worth it. Ofc theres all shades of gray and I understand people like to look to antialiased fonts instead of green-on-black, or don't like to learn a new package manager syntax but please that is absolutely not directly related to the delivery. The time you spend configuring a system is completely amortised over time, if the system is better.