larval stage


larval stage

Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration on codingapparently passed through by all fledgling hackers. Commonsymptoms include the perpetration of more than one 36-hourhacking run in a given week; neglect of all other activitiesincluding usual basics like food, sleep, and personal hygiene;and a chronic case of advanced bleary-eye. Can last from 6months to 2 years, the apparent median being around 18 months.A few so afflicted never resume a more "normal" life, but theordeal seems to be necessary to produce really wizardly (asopposed to merely competent) programmers. See alsowannabee. A less protracted and intense version of larvalstage (typically lasting about a month) may recur when one islearning a new OS or programming language.