The secret of Bill Gates that few know to be the best programmer

Bill Gates He is one of the most important characters in the history of technological development, not only because of his work in founding Microsoftbut also, for his ability to work as a team.

This, according to him, is the secret to becoming the best computer programmer. software.

In the book entitled “In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations and the Visionaries of the Digital World”, published in the year 1997an interview given by Gates is collected in which he made a key recommendation for anyone who wants to dedicate himself to the development of software: learn to work with others with more experience.

“If you really want to become a great software developer, you need a lot of experience (…) To think that you are going to be one of the best without working alongside someone with more time… I doubt that this is an adequate vision, “said Gates.

The founder of Microsoft he used himself as an example so that others could be encouraged to demand more with the support of more experienced professionals, logically recognizing that at the time he had a lot to learn.

“Although I worked with software since the 13 years and I became a great developer, I kept asking others to see my code and tell me where I could improve, how to be different”, he indicated in the book written by Dev Jager Branch and Raphael Ortiz.

This is the idea that Gates assured that it was used at the headquarters of Microsoft for developers to constantly improve the company’s products: learning from others.

“There was a lot of camaraderie and they challenged each other: “can you improve this code? can you improve this?” (…) It was a different world,” said the businessman.

However, just as he considered that learn from other people was an important aspect for every developer, he also stated that it is not the only way to improve in this job. Another possible option is to study what others have done: code from people with more experience.

In another book, entitledprogrammers at work”, written by Susan Lammers and published in 1986, Gates recalled how he began to analyze the work of other professionals. “In my case, he would go to the Computer Science Center and get code for his operating system out of the trash,” he said.

In the same way, he indicated that he improved in this area of ​​his work between 1975 and 1980 because he came to think that having read a lot of programming code, he could read any other quickly.

Even though the employer considered that the learning and the experience are important to carry out this work, he did not rule out that the talent that a person may have is a relevant factor when it comes to improving as a professional. “I think after the first three or four years, it’s clear whether you’re a good programmer or not,” he said. Gates.

The founder of Microsoft He currently works with programmers and developers from around the world on projects to improve the company’s products, such as Open AIwith whom he actively collaborates for the incorporation of artificial intelligence in the system windows and the seeker Bingwhich already has its own version of a virtual assistant or “copilot”.