What Makes a Pragmatic Programmer?

Each developer is unique, with individual strengths and weaknesses,preferences and dislikes. Over time, each will craft his or her own personalenvironment. That environment will reflect the programmer's individualityjust as forcefully as his or her hobbies, clothing, or haircut. However, ifyou're a Pragmatic Programmer, you'll share many of the followingcharacteristics:
? Early adopter/fast adapter. You have an instinct fortechnologies and techniques, and you love trying things out. Whengiven something new, you can grasp it quickly and integrate it withthe rest of your knowledge. Your confidence is born of experience.

? Inquisitive. You tend to ask questions. That's neat—how didyou do that? Did you have problems with that library? What's thisBeOS I've heard about? How are symbolic links implemented? Youare a pack rat for little facts, each of which may affect some decisionyears from now.

? Critical thinker. You rarely take things as given without firstgetting the facts. When colleagues say "because that's the way it'sdone," or a vendor promises the solution to all your problems, yousmell a challenge.

? Realistic. You try to understand the underlying nature of eachproblem you face. This realism gives you a good feel for how difficultthings are, and how long things will take. Understanding for yourself