Re:Please don't learn to code
by mindcrime on Tuesday May 15, 2012 @11:30AM
(#3977005)
I wholeheartedly agree with Jeff's point that this sort of attitude is not something we ought to encourage. If people more generally think of coding as something easy, then the kind of programmers who produce shitty code and think it's fine will be emboldened and we will be doomed to experience yet more broken software in the world. That's the last thing we need.
I sort of agree with you, but this also strikes me as something of a vacuous truth. I mean, think about applying it to any other domain: Does the fear that homeowners will start thinking of plumbing as "easy" and start overreaching their abilities mean we should quit selling monkey wrenches at Home Depot? Does the fear that auto owners will experience delusions of grandeur and start thinking of themselves as professional mechanics mean that Sears should quit selling Craftsman wrenches and Chilton repair manuals? Etc., etc.
The point is, all fields have a range of knowledge and skills from total n00b, amateur, up to professional. And in every other field, amateurs and professionals co-exist peacefully, and no one seems to be arguing that we should prohibit minor home repairs by home owners, oil changes by car owners, etc. I don't see why programming should be any different. If business people learn to write a few Excel macros, or even some small Perl, Python or Groovy scripts, that's not going to hurt those of us who are working professionally in this field.
I sort of agree with you, but this also strikes me as something of a vacuous truth. I mean, think about applying it to any other domain: Does the fear that homeowners will start thinking of plumbing as "easy" and start overreaching their abilities mean we should quit selling monkey wrenches at Home Depot? Does the fear that auto owners will experience delusions of grandeur and start thinking of themselves as professional mechanics mean that Sears should quit selling Craftsman wrenches and Chilton repair manuals? Etc., etc.
The point is, all fields have a range of knowledge and skills from total n00b, amateur, up to professional. And in every other field, amateurs and professionals co-exist peacefully, and no one seems to be arguing that we should prohibit minor home repairs by home owners, oil changes by car owners, etc. I don't see why programming should be any different. If business people learn to write a few Excel macros, or even some small Perl, Python or Groovy scripts, that's not going to hurt those of us who are working professionally in this field.