Pragmatic Programmers Interview

Via LtU, an interview with Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt. Not much new here, but a few pithy quotes. Good to whip out on a time-strapped manager who wants to know what this pragmatic programming thing is about:
  • "Any plan is obsolete once you start implementing it" - reminds me of the military saying to that effect, the battle plan goes out the window once the battle starts.
  • "Java and C# are not really dynamic in any meaningful way. Memory management is a small part of the picture, but the real gains in these more dynamic languages come from different areas, particularly from a flexible type model and from the ability to metaprogram...Paul Graham makes a big deal out of the way Lisp helped him...and he's right.". For a publisher who won't accept proposals for Lisp, O'Reilly still manages to be a de-facto endorser.
  • " Being an effective change agent is a difficult business. Probably the most realistic approach is to "be the change you want to see."".

— Gordon Weakliem at permanent link