Re: Required Skills (was EGL)

[Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bradley V. Stone wrote:
> I agree, Walden.  when did HTML, CSS and JavaScript become "a chore" to
> learn?  I think I picked up the basics of HTML in about 20 minutes... that was a few years ago, though.
>   
I am on record as saying that RPG programmers are some of the smartest 
people on the planet.  I think programming an enterable subfile or an 
MRP generation requires programming skills that are beyond the scope of 
most of the so-called "applications" we see today.

And yet, I am pretty comfortable in saying that learning advanced 
JavaScript techniques - anything that touches the DOM, or requires AJAX, 
or needs cross-browser capability - is not something that an RPG 
programmer can casually pick up in their spare time.  I am a very good 
RPG programmer, and also a very good JavaScript programmer, and I can 
tell you that the skill sets required for each are quite different.

If you're not familiar with Java or C, just the syntax is going to throw 
you off.  It's not impossible; I've taught many RPG programmers Jva.  
But to demand that someone with a full-time job learn three or four new 
syntaxes is a bit over the top.

I am always telling people they need to learn to progress, but if by 
using a tool such as JSF can remove the requirement for learning the 
subtleties of JavaScript (a language that is deceptively simple to use 
but surprisingly complex to use *correctly*) then for some people it's a 
fair trade-off.

Anyway, this is REALLY an opinion thread now.  You guys have weighed in 
with your opinions on what a "real programmer" should learn. I just want 
people to be as productive as possible, and JSF is a lot more productive 
than hand-coding JavaScript.

Joe