Compile Important Stuff Yourself

From Zanecorpwiki

1. A good developer always has an eye on deployment. Getting the product out there is everyone's job. A good developer should be familiar with what's involved in deployment.
2. If you develop long enough you'll need to upgrade an app/library/etc. ahead of your distribution's version, or keep an older major version.
3. In order to keep your application portable, you'll need to be aware of any issues with compiling, configuring, or running the app. Relying on a distro for this creates ignorance.