I agree with the thrill of being able to impact millions of people in some substantial way. For some people, that's through code; for others, the medium is paint, magazine articles, blog posts, books, posters, music, ...
Please Learn to Code
111–120 of 151 posts
Re: Please Learn to Code
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It requires a computer (or access to one). It requires programs to run your code - free or otherwise. I know what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that you don't need a computer to write programs. I started writing programs with pen and paper back in middle school (before my family owned a computer), and still often do that. Nowadays, most of them do end up being digitized and executed, though. Alonzo Churc…
You're thinking about maths, logic and algorithmic, abstract disciplines that go nicely with programming, coding, or however you would like to call the physical implementation of the mathematical ideas derived using your pencil. Although you could argue about when exactly the step is made from abstraction to implementation, I like to think that it's somewhere between compile time and throughout testing.
They were programs in every sense of the word. Back then it was often QuickBasic or x86 assembly language, nowadays they tend to be either Lua or some Lisp (usually Scheme). I actually find the process helpful, because when it's not as convenient to just run the program to see if it works, I find that I reason about the programs more deeply. YMMV, of course.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It requires a computer (or access to one). It requires programs to run your code - free or otherwise. I know what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that you don't need a computer to write programs. I started writing programs with pen and paper back in middle school (before my family owned a computer), and still often do that. Nowadays, most of them do end up being digitized and executed, though. Alonzo Churc…
And Ada Lovelace before electricity. :) "The notes [...] include in complete detail, a method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers [...] which would have run correctly had the Analytical Engine been built. Based on this work, Lovelace is now widely credited with being the first computer programmer and her method is recognised as the world's first computer programme."[1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada…
How could I forget Ada Lovelace? Facepalm moment. Thanks.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
3. You never dispute or even address the main point behind Atwood's article - that while programming is great to learn, the trend that 'everyone should learn to program' as a base skill along with reading, writing, and math is ridiculous. It's nowhere near as important as these other skills, and he makes a number of other valid points as well which I'm sure you don't disagree with. You argument was simply that progra…
As computers permeate more of our everyday lives it becomes necessary to understand them on some level. I vehemently disagree on this. Apple has made a silly fortune proving the contrary. If you need deep understanding of a device to make it useful then the designers have failed to provide you with the right abstractions.
Agree. And along the same lines an entire industry grew around the fact that computing products before Apple (particularly DOS, Windows etc.) were difficult enough that the average person (say someone who might be urged to code now) did not have the desire or aptitude to learn how to do it themselves. I'm sure everyone knows many of these people who giggle about how stupid they are with computers and have no interest in learning how to fix the simplest of problems.
Some people just lack the appropriate base skills to fool with computers and certainly programming. They will always need a "tech guy" and have no desire to change that for a reason. It's not that simple to them. Not because they are stupid but because it's not their thing.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It requires a computer (or access to one). It requires programs to run your code - free or otherwise. I know what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that you don't need a computer to write programs. I started writing programs with pen and paper back in middle school (before my family owned a computer), and still often do that. Nowadays, most of them do end up being digitized and executed, though. Alonzo Churc…
I know what you're saying too, but (at least for me) a program that is only written down and not run is typically a dry affair. Seeing a thing come together as you fiddle with it is just satisfying.
I agree that there's something satisfying about watching a computer execute a program, but I find pleasure in the process of just writing programs, too. At that point, though, it's just coding for coding's sake.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#116Skilled programmers are already horrible at effort and time estimates. The last thing I need is a client who "programmed" some barely-functional shell and who is certain he/she only needs me to "finish up" some of the details.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#117Maybe people don't necessarily need to learn a particular programming language, API set, platform, etc., but a basic awareness of how computers can be used to automate tasks, how loops and conditionals combined with arithmetic can be organized to make something useful, would really help people realize the potential benefit to be unleashed with an understanding of computers.
I had a computer class in high school where we were taught BASIC, and we were eventually taught to use HyperCard in a likely atypical "humanities" class I took; those experiences were certainly very enriching and empowring to me, even if I never touched BASIC or HyperCard again since.
Is programming even still a part of high school curricula?
Re: Please Learn to Code
#118Some free advice to the kids (and then get off my lawn!)...
Remember that Buffet quote -- he has seen a few bubbles: "... try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful."
Edit: If it isn't obvious -- the meme "everyone should learn to code" is the largest top-of-a-bubble signal I've ever seen.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#119I remember when VBA came out in MS Office. Now your average tech savvy office drone could morph their excel spreadsheets into a full blown application capable of processing business data without having to jump through any of the traditional hoops the evil IT department normally demands. And we ended up with a ton of buggy, dangerous "mission critical" piles of garbage because they were "designed" and built by non-pro…
I still think those «buggy, dangerous "mission critical" piles of garbage» are valuable. If there was no VBA, the jobs these scripts were created for would still be done manually, with a mouse, by some secretary somewhere. "Getting a professional to do it" would never enter into the picture when you're talking about a BigCorp with a conservative, limited-budget IT department.
Very few people look at a medical problem and decide to "hack it" themselves without seeking treatment from a Medical Professional. Neither to many people seek legal solutions without the aid of a Professional Lawyer.
Software development is a highly skilled discipline. Sure, you can teach your accountant to code fizz buzz - but what use is that to them? Are they going to spend the thousands upon thousands of hours to become proficient in development before realizing it would be cheaper just to hire it out?
Again, focus on teaching a coder point of view - a way of thinking.
Re: Please Learn to Code
#120I'm actually kind of tired of hearing, "there's no other field that lets you create something from nothing" vis a vis programming. Look: I LOVE coding. I LOVE programming. I think it's fun and challenging, etc. etc. But it's not the only creative outlet that has ever existed. Have you considered a pencil and a paper? Crayons? Markers? Paints and a canvas? A hammer, some wood and some nails? "Ah, but that requires som…
I agree, and I'd argue that you can program something in 5 minutes, but you can't program something well if you haven't put in years of practice and dedication. It's just like anything else in the world. Any jerk can grab some paints and make some lines on a canvas, but the ones who take the time to understand art and practice for years are always going to be better. Always. So should you learn to code? If you're int…
Wholeheartedly agreed.
Good writing can change just as many lives, just as profoundly as good coding (think of that one book or that one blog article that really made us reflect upon our own lives).
We all have great things to say: "Please Learn How to Write"