[projectramo]

Consider this set of ideas -- made up right now, on the spot -- as potential answers to the question "How to be a great developer?":

-- Practice code

-- Read code

-- Read ideas about what makes good code

-- Write about what makes code good, try to practice the principles

-- Try different languages, especially ones that are different from the ones you first learn (i.e. functional if you learned procedural, object oriented, and of course Prolog)

What is wrong with these suggestions? Do you believe they will make you a great programmer?

Well, yes, these are great suggestions but the problem is:

1. They are self evident

2. They take a lot of time

What is missing is the tradeoff. If you just tell people all the ways to practice, then you aren't really giving them information. Its not false, and I don't have to be a great programmer to render this simple advice.