Why Sysadmin's Can't Code

I'm a sysadmin and I code according to requirements - which are drastically dissimilar to products that would be used by hundreds of people, not to mention consumers.

* Often it's a Puppet recipe.

* Often, the program gets used once, then rots as the environment it was designed for changes. I might look at it for ideas if similar requirements occur after a few years.

* Only one other person needs to know how it works (and he'd prefer not to).

* When my employer (who is not a software provider) wants something with the attributes of commercial software (professional documentation, ongoing support, ongoing development) they understand that dividing the cost with other customers is far cheaper than having me attempt to accomplish the same thing.

The distinction between scripting and coding is parallel to that between interpreted and compiled languages - there are great grey areas in between. I will exec external programs when those accomplish what I want. I have no hesitation to use libraries either. I came out of college a programmer, but a Fred Brooks dictum is lodged deep in my soul: the cheapest code is the code you didn't write. In a Unix environment, that meant most of what needed to be done looked more like sysadmin than coding - and here I am today.