The Programmer's Ultimate Tool

Nov 06, 2006

Today I’d like to talk about the ultimate tool a programmer will ever acquire. More effective than the best debugger, and more powerful than the fastest compiler. Even big monolithic IDEs like Eclipse and Visual Studio pale in comparison to how much more productive this tool will make you. The best part is that all it costs to acquire is some of your time and a little dedication. Otherwise it is completely free.

Words over Code

If you can communicate in plain English (or whatever your native language may be .. Hello international readers!) you will be a better programmer. Your fellow programmers will understand you better and your documentation will be clearer to who ever inherits your code.

When you can communicate clearly you will find that people enjoy working with you. You will spend less time explaining yourself and more time being productive.

This probably explains my love of Ruby and also why I’ve never really bothered with Perl.

How to Communicate Effectively

So what are some quick ways to become a better communicator?

Be able to explain things in terms everyone can understand, including your Mom. Most technical issues can be explained in much friendlier real-world metaphors.
Break things down into small usable chunks. It’s much easier to explain a complicated problem in ten steps than it is one.
Write and speak concisely. The less time it takes to get your point across the less likely you are to lose someone’s attention.
Start a blog. Practice is essential to learning to communicate well.

A lot of times it’s easy to get wrapped up in the latest technology that is supposed to solve all our problems in creating software. Remember that your most important tool, communication, has been around far longer and will continue to serve you well long after the latest technology of the month has faded.