Hot dog harmony
![adrian-bridgwater.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/087ae52b99e3ca19937dde24c114215a6d2d2afc/2018/09/28/3e5ee736-a8d8-4b1b-b0b1-988abf632f15/adrian-bridgwater.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
Are software developers the same all over the world? Well, if the last 24 hours here at the Yahoo! Open Hack Day in Bangalore India are anything to go by, I can give you three good reasons why engineers of all shapes and sizes all over the world share a common DNA.
Reason 1: Focus –
With a dopey case of jet lag and a complete lack of life-sustaining alcohol to keep me going, I eventually had to sleep last night. No such rest for the 200 or so coders at this venue. Fuelled by a combination of access to APIs that they previously didn’t know were open to them, a determination (perhaps) to be “noticed” by the execs here – and innumerable cans of Red Bull, these guys (and just two girls) kept going all night. With a 15-foot high countdown clock and access to architectural specialists all night long spurring them on, when I came down for breakfast this morning most of them were still going strong.
Reason 2: Technology proximity –
This is a ‘face down in the keyboard’ event. The attendees are enthusiastic, self-assured and subversively conspiratorial as they quietly plot to beat their competitor peers with an idea for the ‘next big thing’. They’re not phased either, even as Yahoo! co-founder David Filo strolls in between the tables and bean bags – nobody is stopping for autographs or brown nosing. These developers know they’re being judged on their ideas and nothing more.
Reason 3: Hot dogs –
As much as I was looking forward to a spicy chicken shaslick last night, when I got to the buffet with my glass of 7Up I was faced with a selection of Western-style potato crisps and hotdogs. Looking wistfully for some chilli sauce all I could find was ketchup. Sensing my disappointment, an Indian chap next to me smiled, grabbed three hot dogs and said, “ah, developer food!”