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>If someone is able to build with a tool something that a developer would build with code If they could actually do this, yes it would. But they can't actually

by learc83 11y ago

>If someone is able to build with a tool something that a developer would build with code If they could actually do this, yes it would. But they can't actually build something that a developer would build with code. If someone can't code at all, they can use WordPress to build a very small subset of what a developer can build with code. A person who spend 30 seconds setting up a blog on tumblr is able to build something that a developer would build with code, but again it's just a small subset. Now if that subset is all you need then it's fine to hire WordPress admin instead of a developer. But the term "developer" has a current meaning, and that meaning is analogous to "programmer". That being said, language changes, and developer could become another meaningless job title like engineer (in some countries), and people will have to use another term for someone who can code. There are ways to prevent this, in some jurisdictions they limit the use of titles like Engineer.

lotyrin 11y ago
It wasn't that long ago (in society scale, the scale that most of these people's clients reckon with, not on technology scale that most readers here will use) that you couldn't just configure up an interactive publishing workflow, something these folks deliver, and would have to hire someone to "develop" it to your needs. I think it is that context in which they are called developers.
- learc83 11y ago
  That's the case for almost everyone who uses any software to build anything. Not too long ago, an off the shelf solution didn't exist for anything, so you had to hire someone to build it from scratch. By that definition, almost anyone should be called a "developer". 20 years ago, you needed to be a developer to set up a small homepage. Now my grandma can do that with Facebook, but I'm not going to call her a "developer" just because she's doing something that used to require one.

by learc83 11y ago

lotyrin 11y ago

It wasn't that long ago (in society scale, the scale that most of these people's clients reckon with, not on technology scale that most readers here will use) that you couldn't just configure up an interactive publishing workflow, something these folks deliver, and would have to hire someone to "develop" it to your needs. I think it is that context in which they are called developers.

learc83 11y ago
That's the case for almost everyone who uses any software to build anything. Not too long ago, an off the shelf solution didn't exist for anything, so you had to hire someone to build it from scratch. By that definition, almost anyone should be called a "developer". 20 years ago, you needed to be a developer to set up a small homepage. Now my grandma can do that with Facebook, but I'm not going to call her a "developer" just because she's doing something that used to require one.