From classical to modern-day software development

It probably goes without saying, but modern-day software development is quite different from what it was just a couple of decades ago. For a software developer to keep up with the constant technological change happening almost by the day, it requires a near-constant level of learning. Coding is not a static enterprise; computer software and computing power expand at an exponential rate.

The fact is, modern, mainstream software development requires a specific set of skills; skills that must change with the times. An experienced software developer is not a person who can just write a workable program at the drop of a hat. Core coding skills are simply not going to cut it in today’s software development environment.

Navigating the landscape of today’s software development needs

There is a landscape of tools, libraries, coding specificity, algorithms and more. Gone are the days when software development relied on one optimal algorithm that handled all the hard work.

In the 90s, traditional coding wasn’t simple by any means, indeed, it was based upon a sophisticated architecture and application of data structures. Yet, when compared to what software developers have to deal with today, the picture is very much black-and-white.

Fast-forward twenty years and software development now consist of not just the same level of sophisticated data structures, but also a careful orchestration of libraries, frameworks, operating systems, and so much more. While it is important to be able to read, analyze, and write various forms of code, to be an effective developer, a unique set of talents are required.

Classical software development enters the modern age

Back when computer science was a brave new field still growing from infancy, programming was much clearer. There was one operating system: Windows. There was one type of computing device: a desktop. There were no smartphones, clouds, laptops, Chromebooks, Androids, iPhones, Mozillas… and we could go on and on and on.

Yet, classical development problems were not without their own form of complications. Back then, it was a matter of working with integrated development environments from Visual Studio to Delphi and Oracle Forms. When you worked within these environments, if you needed additional functionality, you were generally forced to develop it on your own.

From dealing with multiple abstraction layers to memory leaks and a lack of sound understanding – classical programming was not without its challenges. Today, challenges remain, and although the development process has become somewhat simplified – no longer do you have to climb binary trees or cross your eyes scanning linked lists – new methods bring with them new complications.

The skills of the many outweigh the skills of the few or the one

Now that we are working within the structures of the World Wide Web, mainstream software development has moved from the realm of desktop applications to that of web applications. As we hinted at earlier, this has led to an entirely new level of complexity within each project.

From digital infrastructure to new coding languages and database designs, the moral of the story today is that no single developer can handle it all. The modern software development paradigm requires a team of experienced, knowledgeable programmers able to navigate both classical and modern techniques.

Here at Clever Coding, we have spent many, many years assembling a team of coders and developers that have just the skills you need to create a program, app, or website that will not only stun your customers but leave you smiling at the outcome. Whatever your needs are in the digital space, we’ve got the wealth of knowledge on hand to take care of it. When it comes to finding the right combination of experienced developers, we have cleverly cracked the code.