I think much depends on how much time you have to spend on something. If you have a deadline, you probably would do better to grab what you can and avoid reinventing the wheel. Much of the time we just don't have the luxury of time to play with something, which I think is one reason there is so much crappy commercial software out there - they had to beat the competition, so they couldn't do the testing they should have.

On the other hand, if you do have the time, I think it's a wonderful thing to reinvent the wheel. IMNSHO, it's the best way to really learn how to do things. I suppose it's like building something yourself, instead of buying it, or (in the case of CPAN) downloading it. Maybe your product isn't as flashy, nor as efficient; maybe it doesn't work nearly as well. But - it's yours. To me there is something highly satisfying about creating a product by myself, even if it's a poor shadow of what is already out there.

And you never know - you just might be the one who finds a better algorithm, or approaches the problem in a unique, original way that turns out to be better than what's already available. You probably aren't going to do this for pay, though. Your boss will want you to produce results, not art. It's up to the amateurs to make a piece of software that is not only effective, but also efficient and (ideally) elegant.

בּרוּך

In reply to Re: Death and Return of TIMTOWTDI by baruch
in thread Death and Return of TIMTOWTDI by dakedesu

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