分类目录归档:Uncategorized

技术路线的选择重要但不具有决定性

最近微软在技术上连续有大动作,在PDC上发布了Windows Azure云计算平台,预告了Visual Studio 2010、.NET 4.0和C# 4.0。如果放在几年前,我相信微软粉丝们一定是欢声雷动,不过这次情况有点不太一样,在网上看到有人在抱怨微软技术更新速度太快而且四面出击,还有人扬言要改弦更张,投奔Linux或者Java阵营。我本人也收到一封来信,写信人大意是说自己大学时选择.NET路线,一路跟下来很辛苦,2.0还没学好,人家已经4.0预览了,感到很困惑,问我该怎么办。老实讲,这样的问题我无法回答,每个人具体情况不同,所应该采取的态度和解决方案也不同。从我自己来讲,其实技术路线问题也曾长时间地困扰我,所以我想把我现在的一些想法摊出来跟大家分享一下。罗列如下:

根据我长期的观察,做开发技术的人按照其人生路线设计,可以分成几类。第一类是把自己的命运寄托在一项事业上。这样的人知道自己想干什么,而且有能力把技术当工具来实现自己的想法和事业。这里所说的事业是广义的,并不是说你非要自己开公司当老板,而是说你认可一件事情,比如促进人们交流和言论自由,带给大家更多娱乐,提升大众身心健康水平,增强国家国防实力,或者提升某个行业的信息化水平,然后你能够以技术为手段,在这个事情上做出成绩。这种人做着自己认为值得一生投入的事情,愿意领略这一追求带来的人生起伏并且无怨无悔,我认为这是做技术的最高层次。第二类是把自己的命运寄托在组织和团队上。这种人虽然不知道自己到底想干什么,但是技术水平出色,而且综合素质突出,勇于变化,能够把技术当敲门砖进入某个优秀的团队,以团队的目标为目标,依据团队的需求而转型或者坚持,跟团队一起干出一番成绩。这类人有令人羡慕的职业背景,在大公司里高薪厚禄,生活比较安定舒适,但是中年以后会经常自问到底做了什么自己想做的事情,为自己过于风平浪静的人生感到惆怅。但总的来说,这个层次也是比较高的。第三种是把命运寄托在技术上。这种人有能力成为技术的专家,然后就希望奇货可居,待价而沽,把技能当商品出售谋求富足人生。这种人没有大的人生目标,不想把自己的命运跟企业和组织绑定在一起,也不愿意做什么改变,只是满足于技术高手的层面,寄希望于其技术专长能够长期值钱,有点投机主义者的意思。第四种是还处于出卖劳动力的阶段,在这里就不多说了。

我想说的是,在过去很多年里,很多技术人实际上是把自己定位在第三种人里。而实际上,只有成为第一类和第二类人,才算达到了比较成功的状态。第三类人实际上最危险,因为技术的变迁不但是可能的,而且是一定的。他们要么马上被淘汰,要么追得老了累了追不动了以后被淘汰,被淘汰只是时间问题。 因此,如果你认为某个软件技术的兴起或者衰落对你个人的职业生涯构成了决定性的影响,那么你可能正走在错误的路线上,应当尽快改弦更张。

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食谱风格的技术写作指引

问题

现在搭建一个博客非常容易,但是很少有人关注技术博客应该怎么写。

通常来说,技术博客容易出现以下的问题:

  • 内容篇幅太短,没有介绍问题的上下文环境,难以获得共鸣。
  • 内容篇幅太长,从头到尾解释每一个细节,没有突出核心问题。
  • 维护博客花费大量时间却没有得到相应的反馈,久而久之失去写作动力。

技术博客作为一种写作,是需要指引和练习的。那么是否有一份适合技术博客的写作指引呢?

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Lesson 5 No wrong numbers

Mr. James Scott has a garage in Silbury and now he has just bought another garage in Pinhurst. Pinhurst is only five miles from Silbury, but Mr. Scott cannot get a telephone for his new garage, so he has just bought twelve pigeons. Yesterday, a pigeon carried the first message from Pinburst to Silbury. The bird covered the distance in three minutes. Up to now, Mr. Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other. In this way, he has begun his own private ‘telephone’ service.

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WordPress customize Twenty Twelve theme

WordPress 摘要

WordPress 摘要是一段非必需的,对文章的概述性文字;简单地说,就是文章大意。

摘要的主要功能有二:

  1. 当您在“控制板” > “设置” > “阅读”中选择了显示摘要之后,替换文章全文。
  2. 根据主题的不同,亦将用于如下更需要概述性内容的场合:
    • 搜索结果
    • 标签存档
    • 分类目录存档
    • 月度文章存档
    • 作者文章存档

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Lesson 4 An exciting trip

I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.

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Lesson 3 Please send me a card

Postcards always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly waiter taught me a few words of Italian. Then he lent me a book. I read a few lines, but I did not understand a word. Everyday I thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not send cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision. I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day in my room, but I did not write a single card!

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Lesson 2 Breakfast or lunch?

It was Sunday. I never get up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunchtime. Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside. ‘What a day!’ I thought. ‘It’s raining again.’ Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy. ‘I’ve just arrived by train,’ she said. ‘I’m coming to see you.’

‘But I’m still having breakfast,’ I said.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

‘I’m having breakfast,’ I repeated.

‘Dear me,’ she said. ‘Do you always get up so late? It’s one o’clock!’

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