Programming talent

Question

As a rookie programmer, how can I say that me or any other programmer has a programming talent?
What are the talent measuring elements in programming?
is it speed? Logic? Problem solving? etc

Answer 1

If someone can easily design algorithms to solve problems he is getting somewhere.

Answer 2

You're on the right understanding.

However, speed can be a false indicator of talent in almost anything! In almost any skill, to go fast you have to go slow.

I would consider the following attributes as indicators of talent:
* problem solving,
* logical approach,
* structured thinking,
* ability to identify test cases and scenarios,
* ability to isolate and contain functionality in small/reusable components,
* ability to collaborate with other programmers (one person, no matter how good, will be beaten by a collaborative team),
* clear communication (i.e. clean code and ability to communicate complex ideas).

(Last point is important. I've seen many "talented" programmers who's code is thrown away because the code is badly written and cannot be explained.)

Answer 3

A bit like an artist having a portfolio if you have a collection of programs you've written that work as expected, perform a function, are easy to use and not full of bugs that would definitely help you to say that you have a programming talent.

They don't need to be very complicated, it could be something like a few simple games that were written in an evening, a directory lister, a database query, simple website etc. but if you can created them then you're already on the way to being very talented (and if they contain some really clever whizzy bits then all the better)