Coding efficiency

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Skeptical
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Coding efficiency

Post by Skeptical »

I'm starting a project and want to hire a couple of guys to do the PHP and MySQL programming.

My question is, how efficient is a good programmer from a bad one? How many lines of code do good programmers typically achieve in a regular 8 hour work day?

Also, suppose I wanted 2 programmers to write me up an application similar to facebook.com, with the features (but obviously not some of the more advance features such as load balancing, as that is more difficult). How long do you think this should take?
timvw
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Re: Coding efficiency

Post by timvw »

Skeptical wrote:I'm starting a project and want to hire a couple of guys to do the PHP and MySQL programming.

My question is, how efficient is a good programmer from a bad one? How many lines of code do good programmers typically achieve in a regular 8 hour work day?
I know very bad programmers that can copy/paste thousands of lines a day... where a genius only needs ten lines to do exactly the same...
Skeptical wrote: Also, suppose I wanted 2 programmers to write me up an application similar to facebook.com, with the features (but obviously not some of the more advance features such as load balancing, as that is more difficult). How long do you think this should take?
All depends on the exact requirements, available use-cases, ...
nameless1
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Post by nameless1 »

I think it was 10min ago i saw somewhere (this forum or another) a post saying "advanced tutorials" it was a sticky. The tutorials inside... well most of them were an introduction to objects\oop. That stuff is basic. Most phpers are not very good for a whole bunch of reasons. The difference in quality is huge.

Code reuse\patterns\oop\readable\documented\security\speed and yes there is more.

How much code people code in an 8hour period depends on what they code. It depends I think you are looking at two or three classes a day it depends on what you are coding though.

If you do it properly it should take around a year if its being done by one developer and starting from scratch (and being done right and not rushed). But if you rush it you could have something up and running quite soon. It all depends how well you want it coded (in terms of quality not features).
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

Programming doesn't work that way...The more developers you throw at a problem doesn't always mean the faster you get the solution...you need agile managment.

Bob can fix his code/bugs faster than Sam can fix Bob's code...and visa versa

You need a skilled lead hand developer who can break a problem into very small managable parts and deligate those trivial problems to programmers. If you let 2-3 programmers loose on any single objective...

You will likely get:
a. Large intertwined mess which is hard to maintain and hard to pickup or learn
b. A project completely off schedule both in cost and time
Programming is a complex science if you want it done right...an application is truely a living organism...so like a politician you need to take into account many factors which might determine your success.

Cheers :)
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Chris Corbyn
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Post by Chris Corbyn »

Some days I'll go to work knock out all of 5 lines of code, some days none at all. Some days I'll produce hundreds. An average day probably sees about 40-50 SLOC from me.

Do you want lots of code? Or do you just want good code? ;)

Programmers (hopefully) don't spend all day writing code. Where's all the planning, testing and documenting? I'll often take time to go over older code and re-factor too. My manager (he's not a developer) doesn't like it when we refactor or spend time testing so he needs regularly reminding exactly why we do it.
nameless1
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Post by nameless1 »

yeah same but the break in coding is due to needing a break or planning. I think planning is under emphasized. The reason I am not currently working in the field is I don't want to have to learn anything new on the job as learning new stuff does take time and I don't think its fair on the client. I cant say everyone else feels the same ways as me though unfortunatly
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sweatje
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Post by sweatje »

d11wtq wrote:Some days I'll go to work knock out all of 5 lines of code, some days none at all. Some days I'll produce hundreds. An average day probably sees about 40-50 SLOC from me.

Do you want lots of code? Or do you just want good code? ;)

Programmers (hopefully) don't spend all day writing code. Where's all the planning, testing and documenting? I'll often take time to go over older code and re-factor too. My manager (he's not a developer) doesn't like it when we refactor or spend time testing so he needs regularly reminding exactly why we do it.
"An average day probably sees about 40-50 SLOC from me." On a good day I can knock out 2-3 times that from some older code, while adding test cases and features at the same time :) Lines of code can be a difficult beast to manage.
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Jenk
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Post by Jenk »

"Advanced" and "Basic" are also subjective terms. To one man, advanced is basic, but to another, basic will be advanced.
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

It depends on the need of the project and the resources available at the time. I have spent a day coding 500 lines of code in 8 classes. I have also spent days coding nothing, but instead working on the server, or updating PHP, or compiling extensions, etc.

The fact is it really depends on the developer, what they are coding and what the needs of the project are. This is just my opinion , of course.
timvw
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Post by timvw »

Sometimes there are even external factors that slow you down too :( eg: I'm waiting for the DBA to update the schema since thursday.. .
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

I'm in that boat right now too. Our DBA doubles as super-woman, so I am waiting for procs to be built so we can move forward. It is a bit tough, but I am hoping it will be worth it.
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

Everah wrote:It depends on the need of the project and the resources available at the time. I have spent a day coding 500 lines of code in 8 classes. I have also spent days coding nothing, but instead working on the server, or updating PHP, or compiling extensions, etc.

The fact is it really depends on the developer, what they are coding and what the needs of the project are. This is just my opinion , of course.
That's a universal truth IMHO ;)
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Luke
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Post by Luke »

nameless1 wrote:I don't want to have to learn anything new on the job as learning new stuff does take time and I don't think its fair on the client.
I disagree... I have learned more about PHP and application design in the last 3 or 4 months than all of the 3 or 4 years I've been learning PHP combined. It's perfectly fair to the client... a good developer is CONSTANTLY learning and researching better ways to accomplish tasks.
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

The Ninja Space Goat wrote:
nameless1 wrote:I don't want to have to learn anything new on the job as learning new stuff does take time and I don't think its fair on the client.
I disagree... I have learned more about PHP and application design in the last 3 or 4 months than all of the 3 or 4 years I've been learning PHP combined. It's perfectly fair to the client... a good developer is CONSTANTLY learning and researching better ways to accomplish tasks.
I agree with Ninja. I have learned quite a bit (out of necessity) because the client tells me they want something and I want to deliver. Heck, that is why a lot of us are here, asking how to do things we haven't learned yet because a client needs it done.
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