Competitive Programming

This is the attitude that it doesn't matter if anyone else's code works so long as mine does and I get a huge pay increase. In this type of environment developers compete against each other for the resources needed to finish their code first and get it working. These resources include the best computers (usually there is about half as many as are needed...hmmmm.) But most important is people's time. This includes everyone's time including the developer himself. Since developers must ask questions and build interfaces such that their own code can be declared finished, they need each other's time. But they must also minimize the amount of time wasted helping others to get their competing code working. As a bonus the first one to finish does not need to prove that their code properly interfaces with anyone else's code, a large incentive to finish first indeed. This provides incentive to avoid answering questions from other developers.

Is there really such a thing? It seems so selfish . . . EdPoor

There are such things. Was it IBM that had "Tiger Teams" compete to finish different solutions to the same problem?

not CategoryDefensiveProgramming