How do you know if you are a programmer

[mavrick]

Hi guys

Not having any issues...
I would just like to know "when", "how" do u know "if u are a programmer".

Is it the way one thinks?
The way u look?
etc?

[grandpa]

I just spent 90 minutes looking for the cause of this:

PHP Parse Error: unexpected $ file blah at 224

Seems I deleted one of these } unintentionally, inside a script with way too many calls to itself.
And now I'm happy the page is working correctly.
That's what makes me a programmer ;)

[Timotheos]

I'd say if your first stop here at WW is the php, perl or asp forums then you're a programmer.

Maybe a more important questions is whether you're a code monkey?
[dictionary.reference.com...]

[olwen]

If you dream in BASIC or COBOL or PHP you may be a programmer.

[vkaryl]

COBOL in cobalt is really interesting.... every programmer should try it....

[mincklerstraat]

gramps: I spent a real long time using an editor that didn't do bracket-braces-parentheses matching (this means, it shows you which of these 'opens' or 'closes' the one that the cursor is on by highlighting it - or else puts marks in the left-column). And I lost so much time counting brackets, and dealing with the kinds of messes you describe. Anyways, once I got an editor that did this matching, it was such a delight! It saved so much time! Jedit does this on windows, I don't know of any others. If your editor doesn't do this for you, by all means get one that does, you'll be doing yourself an untold favor.

[Leosghost]

empathising with this thread may well be it's own definition of the "touchstone"...

[kahuna]

You:
Drink more coffee than Starbucks can sell.
Beginning to lose your eyesite.
Favor the darkness and solitude of the wee night.
Nobody knows what you are talking about when you
mention RegEx at the ol' watering hole.

And finnally,
burnt out and toss the box through the window.

[Timotheos]

Drink more coffee than Starbucks can sell.

Ah yes... large doses of caffeine are a prerequisite.

[grandpa]

burnt out and toss the box through the window.

This doesn't really work.. I tossed mine out from the 3rd floor window (in a manner of speaking). Guess what, I found another one. sigh

[volatilegx]

If you dream iterating loops, then you might be a programmer.

If you commonly drive your significant other crazy with your amusing (to you) stories of how you increased your program's efficiency by 7.5%, you might be a programmer.

If you write an entirely new subroutine and have it execute, bug-free, the first time, and then do a twenty-minute happy dance, you might be a programmer.

:)

[trillianjedi]

If (you write paragraphs in conditional statements) then you probably are a programmer.

Look at volitilegx's post above ;-)

TJ

[Lipik]

if you bought a C64 in the early 80's, then you must be a programmer... becouse there was no software for it..(or very little..)

[Leosghost]

"Conditional statements" TJ..hhmmmm..never noticed before..now you mention it ..some of us do and some dont ...maybe if ..heh heh ..

However I noticed that it might be getting out of hand when complaining about having spent a helluva lot of time trying to get something right in Java

...was asked by the "non IT " listener ..
"if I could recommend any hotels!" as they were planning their honeymoon and "wanted somewhere exotic!" ..

And I though the propellor on the top of my head was visible ....leastways it stopped me from being able to get the "tin foil hat on"..