Re: Programming Tools -- How Prevalent Are They?

[David Jones/KSBEISD <David_Jones/KSBEISD -dot- KSBEISD -at- DATAHUB -dot- COM>]

>I recently saw an employment ad for a Technical Writer in the Boston Globe,
from a compamy that develops Internet courseware.  The ad sought candidates
with experience using Visual Basic, Lotus Notes, Perl, and C/C++
programming.  Writing ability was not cited as a requisite skill.

This prompts a question:  How prevalent is the use of programming tools --
such as Visual Basic, Perl, Java, C/C++ -- among us folks that call
ourselves "technical writers?"  Specifically, do many of you folks use tools
such as these on a regular basis, as part of their work?<

I maintain (and try to add to) my skills at reading source code, but I don't
otherwise use any of the programming languages outside of my wordprocesser's
macro language.

I believe that developing interactive courseware could require skills in those
"programming" areas. There may not be a lot of tools around for developing that
*without* programming. Perl is a logical requirement, since that seems to be
the lingua franca of CGI programming (required for developing interactive Web
sites).

And that prompts a question on my part ... Are there any tools for developing
CGI scripts -- in Perl or any other language?

David Jones, Technical Writer
David_Jones/KSBEISD -dot- KSBEISD -at- Datahub -dot- com
Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate

DISCLAIMER:
"I do not speak for my employer, my computer, or any other living thing."

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