Confessions of a terrible programmer

[Skip Montanaro]

> Pardon me, but I completely don't get this article.  Let me in on what
> is supposed to be the joke please!

I don't really think there's a joke. I think the author is saying in a
somewhat sly way is that often, the difference between a terrible
programmer and a great programmer is the discipline applied to the
task, and intelligent use of the tools at hand. Catch as many errors
as you can as early as possible (before other people see your original
stabs at a solution) and when your code is set loose in the wild you
will seem like a great programmer. Little do your colleagues know that
your tools protect them from your terrible programming.

Skip