Ask HN: What are the signs that you are a Good, Better, or Best programmer?
Good: You help your users write their specs.
Better: You write what you anticipate your users want.
Best: You users figure out what they want after seeing your prototype.
Good: When someone asks you what a variable means, you answer quickly.
Better: No one asks you what your variables mean.
Best: Others compliment your variable naming.
Good: When questions arise, you look at your code and answer them.
Better: When questions arise, you answer them without looking at your code.
Best: Questions don't arise.
Good: You are deft at using your favorite IDE.
Better: You use an IDE with the colors turned off.
Best: You don't use an IDE.
Good: You are an expert at debugging.
Better: Your error conditions anticipate problems before you need a debugger.
Best: What's a debugger?
Good: There are no bugs.
Better: There are no bugs and it runs fast.
Best: It generates code with no bugs that runs fast.
Good: Common logic is consolidated into common code.
Better: Common code is consolidated into parameter-driven common code.
Best: All code is parameter-driven common logic.
Good: Your code is easily copied and changed by others.
Better: Your code is easily used by others through your API.
Best: Others read your code in order to learn how to do it.
Good: The next programmer can easily debug any run time errors.
Better: There are no run time errors.
Best: Your program fixes itself when it encounters run time errors.
Good: Your app has many good data base access routines.
Better: Your app has several good data base access routines.
Best: Your app has one good data base access routine.
Good: You can easily add special processing logic at any point.
Better: You have hooks to easily access any special processing logic.
Best: Your built in Boolean logic already handles any special processing logic.
Good: Your code runs so well you have time to lurk at Hacker News.
Better: Your code runs so well you have time to participate at Hacker News.
Best: You hang out at Hacker News while your code generators crank away.