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Sanford c01.tex V2 - 08/01/2007 3:26pm Page 9
Chapter 1: aesthNETics
There are certainly many reasons to want to be better. The ever-evolving expectations of clients and
managers is certainly one of the first and foremost reasons. Everyone expects today’s developers to do it
all. A typical job posting might include .NET experience, database experience, nUnit testing experience,
project management experience, and even graphics experience. To stay competitive, developers need
to keep learning. They need to broaden their horizons and challenge themselves to learn things that
are potentially outside their comfort zone. And to the serious developer, that is the best reason to learn
aesthNETics. The challenge should be the real appeal of learning new concepts. The difference between
agooddeveloperandagreatdeveloperisoftensimply the genuine desire to keep learning. As Steve
McConnell stated in Code Complete 2
nd
Edition, ‘‘The characteristics of a superior programmer have almost
nothing to do with talent and everything to do with a commitment to personal development.’’
So sit back, boot up your laptop, and begin your quest to be a better .NET developer.
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