Before starting, please be warned: this is more like a philosophical post than anything else. I might say something in a sentence and then negate it in the next one. If you are ok with that, have fun reading on!
Nowadays, there are tons of tools out there to help us in our job developing software. This is amazing. And yet it is terrible. It is amazing because it gives you choice. You can find something that really matches your requirements. Also, you are likely to find tools to solve almost any problem you find; sometimes several tools solving the very same problem – most of the time probably. Great!
Or not. Now you have to study and compare them all. And of course you have a LOT of free time to do this. Unless you work. And have schedules. And need to deliver results. And if you are like me, you will WANT to know every option you have prior to choosing one.
Tools!?!?
I constantly find myself frustrated, knowing that there is a better way to solve problems we are facing right now. Yet, we can’t afford the time to reach those ways. But there is the other side of this coin. Maybe you don’t NEED that better way, that better tool. You are in heaven now.
This is a discussion that came about a few times not too long ago in the Java Posse podcast. And I basically agree with their conclusions. Is it good or bad to have so many options, like we do in Java? It’s good, because you have choice, which is probably one of the most important thing you can have. And if you don’t want to afford the time to choose, you can hire a company like Sun to help you, or do this for you.
Maybe the only time where the great amount of options are bad is when your are starting the learning process. There are so many places to go that you might get a little bit lost. At first at least.
So, concluding. I do like to have options. I don’t mind spending hours studying different choices for solving a problem. Actually, I think this makes me better, it makes me stronger and wiser. Let’s hope I’m not wrong and that I don’t die with an overdosis of information!
