ERS::Electronic Reality Solutions - Patterns of Microsoft

It stands to reason that there are more than a few characteristics that contribute to a good developer. Obviously you must have the desire to constantly learn and evolve, but you must also be willing to apply brand new technologies. You must also have a certain amount of faith that you'll be able to make any sort of solution work in the end. Many times we find ourselves beating our heads against a wall while trying to solve a problem, but it is only through persistence that we find success.

Thankfully there are resources that help developers better utilize the tools that Microsoft has given us. One such tool is called patterns and practices and though it's been around for years I've only recently, that is over the past three years, delved into the lessons contained within.

The nice thing about patterns & practices is much of the solution guesswork, which results from simply following online tutorials, is addressed. In many cases you'll find that there are several ways to solve a problem but that figuring which is the most appropriate is often difficult. Developers tend to get into habits and are often prone to solving issues using the same manner that is the most familiar.

Whether simply maintaining the status quo or out of sheer laziness, relying upon blind habit is not the proper way to solve a problem. Sure you can use a monkey wrench as a hammer but you shouldn't expect it to perform as well. Likewise .Net technologies are tools with which you must make your own solution, they are not a solution in and of themselves. Only once you mature and recognize this can you, as a developer, truly appreciate the information contained in the patterns website.

That said it's still possible for a seasoned developer to feel like they have a lot of catching up to do. Any given article tends to spawn two or three related articles which are recommended reading. The prospect of research can easily mushroom but having experienced and witnessed the result of using MS patterns I can truly say that the recommendations of this site work and are worth the effort. In the end any project that uses the "best practices" detailed within these documents will surely benefit and help to produce a better technological solution.

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