"Cowboy Coders" shoot from the hip. They're lone wolves, programming heroes. They're respected for their work ethic, programming speed, and brilliance - but hated for their unreadable code, lack of standards, and arrogance.
There are many types of 'bad' programmers. The 'cowboy' label is used if the bad programmer has a high opinion of himself (deserved or not), ignores standards, and writes brilliant (if complex and unmaintainable) code. Cowboys aren't stupid, but they might be ignorant. They believe strongly in standards - but only their own. They rarely work well in teams, preferring to work alone. Many cowboys are also workaholics.
One of the perceived strengths of a cowboy coder is their ability to dive into tricky bugs, figure out what's going on (maybe spending all night working on it), and coming up with a complex and brilliant solution. Especially when a deadline is near.
One of the most hated traits of the cowboy is his habit of loudly disrespecting his fellows. This is one reason why cowboys work alone; they can't stand working with others, and others can't stand working with them.
But "Cowboy Coder" is a stereotype. Real people are rarely like that. It's fun to make up or read lists of programmer types, and "cowboy" is one of the stereotypes that I've heard the most. The qualities I've found distasteful in other coders are rarely like the perceived weaknesses of cowboys, and the strengths of good coders I've worked with are more complex that the "work hard" and "brilliant" attributes given to cowboys. Next time, I'll cover the strengths of weaknesses of cowboys that really matter in my next post.
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