Ask HN - As a programmer, how would you feel if everyone became one? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN - As a programmer, how would you feel if everyone became one?

6 pointsfactorialboy6 comments

We've seen this movement, urging everyone to become a programmer / understand / write code.

As a professional programmer, how does that make you feel?

Will you be happy that more people will be able to relate to your experiences, good or bad?

Or will you feel threatened that your livelihood may come under 'threat'? After all, if everyone can write code, your skills aren't that special.

:-)

View on HN

I don't think that 1 person in 1000 could do what i do no matter how many ruby/clojure classes they took.

Sorry if that sounds cocky, but whatever.

Programming is incidental to what I do, which is figure out how to use the deterministic execution of computers combined with the availability of data to solve some problem for somebody. Programming language/architecture considerations are an afterthought for optimizing operations.

This is like suggesting that because one learns how to type/write/spell, all of a sudden one is in competition w/Herman Melville.

They won't. I still find it difficult to write good programs after years of practice. On the contrary, I think if they learn't to program just a little bit, they would realise how difficult it is to actually make something work, let alone, make it aesthetically pleasing. Programmers would get more buck for their bang.

Algorithms, Patterns, Domain Knowledge, Interfaces, Usability, Deploymemt, Infrastructure, Maintenance, Data Integrity, Debugging..... What makes anybody think this is child's play? And who has time? Hell, I am a freelance programmer and I don't have that much time.

There's a difference between someone who can change oil vs bore out cylinders, install a new ecm, change the crankshaft and pistons, change the fuel pump, pushrods and camshaft. You aren't a mechanic because you know how to change oil, you're a mechanic because you know everything else.

I'd just ask someone who wants to become a programmer what they're going to do with all of the code they've learned since programming is a lot like playing with anti-gravity blocks. The possibilities are nearly endless and only limited by the programmer's imagination. Overall, whatever programs someone crafts will likely mirror their own personality.

There's a difference between writing code and being a good programmer. I can run, yet I can't really compete with olympic runner, if you see my point!

Never thought about it because it won't happen.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com