People Who Think Programming Is Shit Are Missing The Point

http://e2open.org/people-who-think-programming-is-shit-are-missing-the-point/

by tomse • 14 years ago

30 12 14 years ago

tokenizer• 14 years ago

I think that the point of the article is half true. You can definitely create code that doesn't save you time, and in fact, over the long run, taxes your project with bugs and other issues.

But I agree with the general sentiment. No one who's automated a task using applied math and the power of some sort of environment, be it windows office, ios, or the web, can understand the feeling of power and understanding one gets from it.

Not only am I completely understanding a flow, a process including most if not all of it's edge cases, I'm fixing/completing a process while writing code.

I remember when going to school, everyone talked about coding as a chore for real computer science, but I always viewed it as a craft, one which takes dedication and practice, and one that can have tangible effects, like carpentry or painting. I'd also like to add that IMO any science based in the realm of computers need some form of applied math scripting for any tangible results. You can't just wish things to happen!

Dystopian• 14 years ago

I'm young (just a recent University graduate), so I expect my viewpoint to change over the next few years after I get into the shit and start getting run down by large companies grinding away at me (it's happened a couple times already - had to decompress for a few weeks after finishing my contract on both occasions).

I cannot think of anything more rewarding than what I'm currently doing though. I'm quite literally creating things that people will be using. It's quite possibly the most amazing form of artwork because users will actually be interacting with systems I'm creating.

The only analogy I can think of is that it's like combining a Monet with a can opener. A can opener is something that's incredibly useful, used by everyone, with many thinking "why didn't I think of that". A Monet on the other hand is respected as an art that most believe is far outside the realm of their possibilities of ever creating. Programming is quite literally being the impasse between the two - something that not everyone can do, but is useful to everyone.

codgercoder• 14 years ago

I find programming very intellectually satisfying, and have for many years. I now find myself in competition with people from all over the world, making it much more difficult to maintain the income I came to depend on. I have some anecdotal evidence that many of these "programmers" don't really like the job, and view it only as a stepping stone in their careers. I wish only Programmers programmed; as software users, we might all be better off.

jcmhn• 14 years ago

> Programming is an information technology, and being a technology facilitates greater efficiency.

Which is not always a good thing. Sometimes the fact that a task is tedious or confusing should cause us to re-think the necessity of doing the task. Thanks to IT we can wind up doing something stupid really well, rather than realizing that maybe we shouldn't do it in the first place.

(I love programming, but I sometimes despair at how useless most of what I do really is)

drivingmenuts• 14 years ago

Programming is not a job I think I will ever be able to retire from. I might have to retire, but I don't think it will be willingly.

greggman• 14 years ago

I always like to think of programming has being able to play with an unlimited supply of legos that can actually do stuff.

Your friend thinks programming sucks? Guess he doesn't like video games, action movies, smartphones or anything else programming makes possible.

zem• 14 years ago

the second bit is bad logic - programming may make a lot of great things possible while itself being a sucky but necessary part of the process.

ziadbc• 14 years ago

Saying that programming is 'spending all dap tapping in code' is like saying drawing is 'spending all day holding a pencil.' That isn't a perfect analogy, but programming can be equally about what is being created as it is the code itself.

borplk• 14 years ago

I agree completely. You can make anything sound awful with that kind of analogy. And some people use it to devalue the things they don't like or understand. There should be a name for this behaviour.

halis• 14 years ago

meanwhile your friend is scratching his balls and saying ding tots are done...

i_s• 14 years ago

Agree with author's main point. But:

>>It’s like anyone who programs is essentially, at heart, a mental masticator, happy to forgo “real life” in order to do what could have been done “by a real person” in the same time.

Mental masticator? Does he mean masochist?

gatordan• 14 years ago

I'm not at all convinced that popular sentiment in the world we currently live is that "programming is shit".

There was no About page on this blog so I couldn't tell if the author is just very young or if this is dated. Either way the post was half baked, with the author ultimately coming to the thoughtless conclusion: "That’s a crock of shit! ... It’s not programmers that are wasting life , it’s the non-programers!"

People Who Think Programming Is Shit Are Missing The Point

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