I personally disagree on matching "Hacker equals Good Programmer", there are several things that may match, while others don't.

I consider myself a good programmer, I hate the hacker stereotype, yet, I constantly get labeled as a Hacker, even, if I have never cracked a password, and never enter on a network, or any of that kind of stuff.

But, I agree than both hackers & bright programmers, require certains skills that a Collegue or University, cannot provide. And the "out of the box" or "Daredevil" mentality that Goverment institutions mindset crash.

I never consider the existance of the "semihackers", before, but, i got the idea.

I started wih programming, at 14, while most of my classmates at Collegue, even touched a computer. They just hear the "Computer Science" hype. I.T. wasn't considered a well paid career, yet.

Interest in programming, is as good as years of experiences. It does help to some extra years of experience, than others.

By the way, even that I was fascinated by computers / programmers, I do have certified short atention problem: ADDH. Cheers.

I know, It sounds weird, and I dont have ways to probe it (And I do believe I should have), only some "hunchs", and observations.

Im a developer outside U.S., I have reasons to believe, that some U.S. companies such as M$ & I.B.M., togheter with U.S. goverment, does practices industtial spyonage, sometimes aided with local goverment agencies.

The story is like this. I have work in several companies with Internet access. Sometimes, I do some software, used by my employeer.
Sometimes, at my employeer's, company, I have some free time, & I develop some libraries, controls, utilities, that may be used,
later, for my employeer's software, or as free-or-open software, or other programs, all with my employeer's approval.

Some years ago (about 10), I a started to make some control library, where a local copy of a database,
in a Desktop Application, was stored, including queries, & relationships.

The main idea is having a partial, dynamic copy of a database, based in queries & views,
instead of static tables. This occured when .NET, I called my controls "DataGroups",
basically too much similar to .NET "Datasets".

Maybe coincidence. There is more.

About the same time, I wanted to emulate a Web Explorer.
It was done, at free time, in a PC with internet access, with Delphi 4 & Dephi 6.
I develop the HTML scanner & parser, & used a Client-Sever, Desktop Application, not a browser.

The application took the controls from a dynamic HTML like file, at running time,
and put controls in a form, like a web page. It was meant to be an HTML editor, & viewer,
altought, I consider it, to use it, as dynamic control generation, but, discarded, because it required,
too much resources.

To make short the story, it was like Windows Presentation Foundation,
been a Desktop Application, using a dynamic HTML tags file.

Sorry, I knows it sounds too much "conspiracy paranoid".
But, when it happens too often, & heard or read similar stories,
You may think: "Something fishy is going on here" ...

Cheers.

Programs cannot be read as music sheets.

Example 1: // this one can be read as music sheet

int main ()
{
    if (State == States::Texas)
        Total *= 1.05;

    return 0;
}

Example 2: // this one CANNOT be read as music sheet

int main ()
{
    if (S == 32)
        X *= 1.05;

    return 0;
}

Example 3: // this one MAYBE be read as music sheet

int main ()
{ // if (State == States::Texas)
    if (S == 32) // Total *= 1.05;
        X *= 1.05;

    return 0;
}

I think it's a good idea that programmers:
- should code their programs as if comments were not required
- and comment their code, as if their program was not readable

And, when those 2 options are applied, then, their programs, can be readed as music sheets...

Cheers.

This story makes me remember another Technology clash.

Once, some well known "C" developer, post an article about the current version of the Pascal programming version. Contrary to the Pascal community beliefs, the article had a lot of good critical points.

So, the main "Pascal" developer, added or changed features, and, the newer versions, allow to do everything, that was missing.

So, the ex-Adobe guy seems to be hired as a "iPhone Quality Assurance auditor".

Just my 2 cents...

I heard about the 2 sides of this story: (1) "We don't have enough talent, lets hire foreign people" (2) "Foreign workers are taking domestic people jobs, dont hire them" The reality, is WORSE: BOTH STUFF, ITS GOING ON, AT THE SAME TIME. So, let's suppose "Cool Software Corp." has 20 domestic developers. 5 are excelent, 5 are good, 5 are acceptable, & 5 are the "we cannot replace them". They could use more. They could pay for another 10, with the same high salary. Instead, of hiring the extra 10, hiring another 5, & firing the 5 mediocre, paying high salaries, the following happens: * So, the first year, they get 5 extra foreign developers, with the same higher salary. * The second year, they hire 10 foreign developers, with the same higher salary, and fire the 5 mediocre. * The third year, fire the 5 acceptable, and hire 5, with a lesser salary. * The fourth year, fire the 5 good, and hire 5, with a lesser salary. * The fifth year, fire the 5 excelent, and hire 5, with a lesser salary. * Then when renowing contract the company offers less salary, some are replaced, other stay, but, with lower salary. Another scenario, its, that a company, needs to hire people, and wants to pay a good salary, while another 5, want "cheap & dirty" programmers. Cheers.

Hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Had the same problem with H.P. & I.B.M. as a networking related provider, each 6 months a different technical person, was in charge of the job.

Over 30 programmer here. In my experience, the better managers, are those that have been developers, and can do non programming stuff like manage people, time, customer, know / want to delegate tasks, etc.

The truth is that not anybody can do that.

(1) There are several Pascal commercial & open source compilers available. Delphi has a open source "alternative" called Free Pascal.

(2) The TIOBE index mention Pascal or Delphi, but, maybe people should say "Object Oriented Pascal". Its the same case that C++, where you can code a Non Object Oriented Procedural Program, with an Object & Class Oriented Compiler, and still works.

(3) There a similar answer in this post about separating "pure C" & "C++" as separate programming languages.

Yes, there are some precompilers that still turn C++ into C. Sometimes, I work in a hobbyst related precompiler ("pet" project). I read in some places in the internet, specially game companies, that some companies use a precompiler, to turn c++ code, in a given platform, and later, the generated standard "plain C" to several architectures or computer platforms. I know, its better to have an optimized bug-free compiler, but, sometimes, a "precompiler" or "transcompiler" may be useful for some features.