Parking Lot Programmer

In this industry, we are all familiar with the term "duct tape developer". Those who throw caution to the wind, who turn their noses up at such things as design, test coverage, and the acquisition of new knowledge. Those who scoff at the notion of principles, patterns, and discipline. Those who ride their proverbial Ford F-150 full speed ahead, blindfolded, with a can of on sale malted beverage in one hand and honking the horn with the other. They leave behind a cloud of burnt fossil fuels, a mighty “YEEHAW” ringing in the minds of those within earshot, the indelible afterimage of a “git ‘er done” bumper sticker, and skid marks in the codebase. Well today I am going to simplify that image and take it out of the pickup and move it to the parking lot.

A parking lot programmer is like a buddy who gets drunk and loses his keys in the parking lot. You go out to check on him and he's looking for the keys under a streetlight even though he knows he lost them somewhere else. So you ask him "why are you looking here?" and he looks up and says confidently "because there's more light here".