Watch for Falling Rocks

Programming is neither fully an art nor fully a science. As it's typically practiced, it's a "craft" that's somewhere between art and science. At its best, it's an engineering discipline that arises from the synergistic fusion of art and science (McConnell 2004). Whether art, science, craft, or engineering, it still takes plenty of individual judgment to create a working software product. And part of having good judgment in computer programming is being sensitive to a wide array of warning signs, subtle indications of problems in your program. Warning signs in programming alert you to the possibility of problems, but they're usually not as blatant as a road sign that says "Watch for Falling Rocks."

When you or someone else ...

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