What should YOU have to become a good computer programmer?

Vaimasters top 10 for what it takes to be a good software developer.

1. Patience... you have to sit for hours and think and type and think and type and test and think and type and think and test and...

2. Self Learner... computer technology changes so fast, you have to read, and research, and try things out on your own to keep up. By the time there are classes and text books for a topic its probably old and out of date already.

3. Creativity... writing software is a creative process, you are making something out of nothing.

4. Ability to deal with anoying people... customers, bosses, ex-wives (well maybe not you) you have to be able to listen to what they want and go back and forth clarifying what they really need and delivering something that works for them.

5. You gota be able to see BOTH the trees and the forest... when you are detailing some parts, make it a point that it dooesnt affect the entire software, on a whole in any manner. So pay attention to the logic but at the same time dont pamper the design made.

6. Take pride in a job well done... a good developer will go the extra mile to make things work smoothly, ensure reuse, build a helpful feature that wasnt required, use a new technology, or by adding that extra bit of coolness to a user interface.

7. It helps to be able to type without looking at the keys

8. Loose the comfort zone : a good developer is not afraid to try new things... new technologies, new paradigns, new styles, new management techniques. Just because you got it done the old way before doesnt mean there aint a better way out there now.

9. Respect people : especially elders, acknowledge that others see the world different than you and have different life experience and can contribute in their own way. Older programmers have porbably forgotten more syntax and languages than youve even heared of.

10. Perseverance : this stuff can be very frustrating, compilers that take FOREVER, intermittent run time errors, sometimes you bang against the same problem for hours, all night long, only to get to the point where you understand that you were looking at the wrong problem all along. You gota be able to keep your cool and KEEP GOING.