2种类型的程序员

Two Types of Programmers

There are two “classes” of programmers in the world of software development: I’m going to call them the 20% and the 80%.

The 20% folks are what many would call “alpha” programmers — the leaders, trailblazers, trendsetters, the kind of folks that places like Google and Fog Creek software are obsessed with hiring. These folks were the first ones to install Linux at home in the 90’s; the people who write lisp compilers and learn Haskell on weekends “just for fun”; they actively participate in open source projects; they’re always aware of the latest, coolest new trends in programming and tools.

The 80% folks make up the bulk of the software development industry. They’re not stupid; they’re merely vocational. They went to school, learned just enough Java/C#/C++, then got a job writing internal apps for banks, governments, travel firms, law firms, etc. The world usually never sees their software. They use whatever tools Microsoft hands down to them — usally VS.NET if they’re doing C++, or maybe a GUI IDE like Eclipse or IntelliJ for Java development. They’ve never used Linux, and aren’t very interested in it anyway. Many have never even used version control. If they have, it’s only whatever tool shipped in the Microsoft box (like SourceSafe), or some ancient thing handed down to them. They know exactly enough to get their job done, then go home on the weekend and forget about computers.

Shocking statement #1: Most of the software industry is made up of 80% programmers. Yes, most of the world is small Windows development shops, or small firms hiring internal programmers. Most companies have a few 20% folks, and they’re usually the ones lobbying against pointy-haired bosses to change policies, or upgrade tools, or to use a sane version-control system.

Shocking statement #2: Most alpha-geeks forget about shocking statement #1. People who work on open source software, participate in passionate cryptography arguments on Slashdot, and download the latest GIT releases are extremely likely to lose sight of the fact that “the 80%” exists at all. They get all excited about the latest Linux distro or AJAX toolkit or distributed SCM system, spend all weekend on it, blog about it… and then are confounded about why they can’t get their office to start using it.

I will be the first to admit that I completely lost sight of the 80% as well. When I was first hired by Collabnet to “design a replacement for CVS” back in 2000, my two collaborators and I were really excited. All the 20% folks were using CVS, especially for open source projects. We viewed this as an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the open source world, and to especially attract the attention of all those alpha-geeks. But things turned out differently. When we finally released Subversion 1.0 in early 2004, guess what happened? Did we have flocks of 20% people converting open source projects to Subversion? No, actually, just a few small projects did that. Instead, we were overwhelmed with dozens of small companies tossing out Microsoft SourceSafe, and hundreds of 80% people flocking to our user lists for tech support.

Today, Subversion has now gone from “cool subversive product” to “the default safe choice” for both 80% and 20% audiences. The 80% companies who were once using crappy version control (or no version control at all) are now blogging to one another — web developers giving “hot tips” to each other about using version control (and Subversion in particular) to manage their web sites at their small web-development shops. What was once new and hot to 20% people has finally trickled down to everyday-tool status among the 80%.

The great irony here (as Karl Fogel points out in one of his recent OSCON slides) is that Subversion was originally intended to subvert the open source world. It’s done that to a reasonable degree, but it’s proven far more subversive in the corporate world!

------------------------------------

不幸的是，这么多年过去了，我还是那80%里面的。