One of the standard questions that I ask when I'm interviewing a developer for a job is what kind of source control they've used in previous jobs. Every now and then, I hear an embarrassing admission that this person has never used source control before. I've heard it often enough now that I'm not shocked by it anymore.
But I can just imagine the reactions of the 3 developers out there that are reading this post ' shock and outrage. There might even be some posturing that every 'good' developer uses source control and I've simply got a 'bad' developer in the interview.
I can agree with that point. If a developer hasn't used source control in the past, they've probably worked in crappy shops and the chances are good that I'll be making them better by hiring them rather than having them make me better. A lack of experience with source control is usually a symptom of many other problems that are probably lurking under the surface. The interview is usually dead at this point.
But for those developers that pass this simple test, I have two follow-up questions for them:
- Do you code at home'
- What source control do you use at home'
90% of developers answer yes to the first question, but most of them look just as embarrassed and foolish as those 'bad' developers when they get the follow-up question.
Which makes me wonder about source control. If it's so valuable, then why don't most 'good' developers use it at home'