Re:We are done with “Hacking”
by syntheticcdo on Sunday August 26, 2018 @08:52PM
(#17848770)
Stack Overflow is an excellent resource for developers of all skills levels. I would break it down into four categories of usage:
1) Posting general questions about "coding", like syntax questions, ie- "how do you create a loop in JavaScript"
2) Posting specific, targeted questions about specifics of something the dev doesn't do on a regular basis, ie- "how do you use Google OAuth for logins"
3) Searching existing SO posts for general questions about "coding", ie- Google search for "what is the difference between let and var in JavaScript", read first SO result
4) Searching existing SO posts for the specifics, ie- Google search for "how to manage cross-tab communication using javascript", read first SO result
I would argue that a competent dev would (and should!) utilize SO using the 4th strategy on a regular basis (maybe weekly for a web dev) and occasionally the 2nd when all other resources have been exhausted. If you are paying someone $100k, yeah I agree that the first usage pattern is inappropriate, but saying "a developer shouldn't need to use StackOverflow" is a gross oversimplification of the vast knowledge that exists in SO.
1) Posting general questions about "coding", like syntax questions, ie- "how do you create a loop in JavaScript"
2) Posting specific, targeted questions about specifics of something the dev doesn't do on a regular basis, ie- "how do you use Google OAuth for logins"
3) Searching existing SO posts for general questions about "coding", ie- Google search for "what is the difference between let and var in JavaScript", read first SO result
4) Searching existing SO posts for the specifics, ie- Google search for "how to manage cross-tab communication using javascript", read first SO result
I would argue that a competent dev would (and should!) utilize SO using the 4th strategy on a regular basis (maybe weekly for a web dev) and occasionally the 2nd when all other resources have been exhausted. If you are paying someone $100k, yeah I agree that the first usage pattern is inappropriate, but saying "a developer shouldn't need to use StackOverflow" is a gross oversimplification of the vast knowledge that exists in SO.