11–20 of 113 posts
What happened is the we finally hit "the dream" of building software out of large building blocks instead of having to reinvent screws and bolts for every project. The lack of fun is, in my opinion, a side effect of using weak languages that force us to write boilerplate and ceremony along with using half-baked non-Turning complete XML languages (don't forget the "L" in "XML" stands for "language").
Pun intended?
Early-phase technology workers with those sophisticated machines were true 'engineers', and were paid well. Over time, things evolved (of course). That history confirmed and taught that as technology matures, it becomes commodity. Economies of scale emerge, markets develop, etc. make it such that the technology practitioners ultimately become installers and configure-ers. I think it started to go awry, in my timeline, when the term Application Programming Interface (API) hit the streets. :-)
However, the above is really only true in the 'application development' space. Most software development opportunities are in that space; and therefore, yes, most opportunities to develop software are boring, non-engineering jobs -- rather blue-collar, in fact. To one steeped in a true CS background, that's a real disappointment when considering a lifetime career. This is true for those in their 20s as well as their 40s.
So, I agree with other posters here: get creative! Reject the direction of the herd, if it seems fitting. Do it anyway, just to experience and learn.
As a beginner, I didn't appreciate big libraries (like Cocoa). I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of having tons of prewritten code and stitching it together - I understood programming as writing code - so I wanted to write my own damn code, not just manipulate massive libraries.
So I turned to PHP and developed my own webapp (a stripped down Google Docs), from scratch. I quickly stumbled upon the purpose of frameworks and libraries. After writing my 20th SQL query I realized I was wasting time. About 10 hours later, I made my own light PHP framework. Now I didn't have to worry about my SQL syntax (it was automated based on the data model variables) and I got to start working on really cool/interesting programming issues rather than the mundane blah code.
Now I've started to investigate Cocoa again and I realize that libraries and frameworks have not hurt programming, but dramatically catapulted it into the realm of science rather than plug-and-chug. Today, our software is more complex than ever and it will only get more complex in the future.
I think if you see programming as just "stitching libraries together", then you've lost your passion or never had any to begin with. Programming has evolved into a science where you have to learn the foundations (languages) AND the pre-existing solutions (libraries) in order to figure out what's been done for you so that you can focus on exploring new and more complex issues.
Libraries were created so that you could focus on mastering new and unexplored territory, not to replace programmers. As a beginner, I didn't appreciate big libraries (like Cocoa). I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of having tons of prewritten code and stitching it together - I understood programming as writing code - so I wanted to write my own damn code, not just manipulate massive libraries. So I turned to P…
"For me, there is a sort of metallic flavour to most raw tuna;" - yes, it is called Mercury
Cool stuff isn't operating systems and compilers, cool stuff is getting your computer to do your job for you. Why don't you use the knowledge you gained of prolog and lisp and metaprogram the tasks you're given to get your work done even faster. This talk about crud is boring, libraries are boring, is almost ludicrous. There are 200 million jobs in the united states alone that can be automated by software. Try to aut…
Also, every program is either an interpreter or a compiler if you squint just right.
Javaschools, PHBs, and other failed attempts at the commoditization/regularization of the software engineer brought this about. There are as many interesting problems today as there were in 1960 or 1985 or 1998. There will be demand for new languages (and new compilers for those languages). Operating systems may or may not be "solved" for now, but VMs are going to be of interest in the next 10 years. The problem is t…
Personally I am glad the same thing happened to other industries like shoemakers and car builders. They have been commoditized: so what? It's good for people who buy their product. The same is true of typical software engineering work.
Although I disagree about the extent to which our work has been commoditized. I don't think we're anything like factory workers yet, although it may someday come to that.
Libraries were created so that you could focus on mastering new and unexplored territory, not to replace programmers. As a beginner, I didn't appreciate big libraries (like Cocoa). I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of having tons of prewritten code and stitching it together - I understood programming as writing code - so I wanted to write my own damn code, not just manipulate massive libraries. So I turned to P…
I think you need to really learn what sql is. It's a 4th generation language, higher level than php or other oo/procedural/functional langauges. If you're finding php and a framework to be better you're underestimating the power of sql.
Cool stuff isn't operating systems and compilers, cool stuff is getting your computer to do your job for you. Why don't you use the knowledge you gained of prolog and lisp and metaprogram the tasks you're given to get your work done even faster. This talk about crud is boring, libraries are boring, is almost ludicrous. There are 200 million jobs in the united states alone that can be automated by software. Try to aut…
Grabbing libraries isn't fun when you first start out programming you really don't learn much and really can't do anything and I think that seems to be where everything is headed. If you are programming for work sure its going to be easier to grab a library to do a certain task for you even if you have to mangle your task a little bit to use it but when you are learning or even when you are programming for fun that i…
Now, such programs seem so lame and pale in comparison to the state of the art, while the amount you need to know and learn to match that standard is daunting, there must be a cost in terms of programmers lost to the profession at an early age.