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Do you need to be able to solve complex algorithmic tasks by heart in order to be a good developer?

Short answer, no, absolutely not.
If your daily work consist of designing algorithms and implementing them in code, then you should have a good understanding of algorithms and how to adapt and apply well proven solutions to various problems. However, 99% of all development work does not involve writing complex algorithms.

Take a look at the source code of any software. The absolute majority of the code will not involve any complex algorithms at all. Hence, there are a lot of other qualities that are far more important in order to be a good software developer. One of the top qualities is the ability to write clear and simple code that is easy to understand. Avoid using complex solutions unless absolutely necessary, keep the code as short and simple as possible and use clear naming.

Another important quality that makes a good software developer is the ability to quickly find information and adapt it to the problem you are working on. Today there are tons of information available online on how to solve different programming difficulties. There is no need to know all of these by heart, but knowing how to quickly find the information, understand it, and adapt it in order to solve the challenge you are currently facing are very important.

So, if you're not into algorithm theory, don't worry, you can still be an awesome developer. And, for those of you that are into hiring developers, understand that good developer qualities can not be reduced to a number, you have to put more effort into recruiting than handing the candidates an automatic online test.

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