4 ms·

Yeah, WTF is wrong with that. It's the job description. Programmers are essentially a type of translator. They translate constraints expressed in human languag

Yeah, WTF is wrong with that. It's the job description. Programmers are essentially a type of translator. They translate constraints expressed in human language to constraints expressed as computer language. At the higher levels you have more say how exactly that happens in terms of system topology, but at that point you're no longer just a programmer, but an architect.

LennyWhiteJr 5y ago
> Yeah, WTF is wrong with that. Nothing is 'wrong' with it. You just do it at the detriment of your own career.
- BulgarianIdiot 5y ago
  That's the thesis in this article. But it's non-sense BS. Even an idiot can put two and two together and conclude that if their business value depends on programs, then programmers create business value.
slumdev 5y ago
> Yeah, WTF is wrong with that Nothing is wrong with it. Donald Knuth proudly describes himself as a programmer. But a good chunk of the people reading this comment probably make more money than he does, and title inflation is part of the stupid game we have to play to earn outsized rewards. So proceed with caution.
- quietunivac 5y ago
  "I am a programmer. On my 1040 form, that is what I put down as my occupation. As a programmer, I write programs." -- Ken Thompson, in his 1983 Turing Award lecture, "Reflections on Trusting Trust". https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/358198.358210 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/358198.358210
yawboakye 5y ago
Programmers program computers. No different than dentists drill teeth. Or maybe we should adopt some Latinized or Hellenized name to infuse some mysticism? That’s our mistake?
- FartyMcFarter 5y ago
  I think it's a bit different: there aren't many barely-trained (or untrained) people drilling teeth, but there are plenty of untrained programmers out there. However the "software engineer" title is also applied to a lot of untrained programmers, so I'm not saying that this term is analogous to "dentist" even if it should be.
  - yawboakye 5y ago
    While I could agree with you, my fundamental disagreement rests on this: it is the practice that awards the title/description not the certification/training. I’m willing to submit the philosophical underpinnings of this argument but I believe even without that the statement above can stand on its own.
- uomopertica 5y ago
  > Hellenized name That’s literally it.
  - yawboakye 5y ago
    I submit Claviculist (from Latin for one who works with small keys: Clavicularius).
swader999 5y ago
I called myself a systems analyst. We don't use the term engineer in my country. It leads to conversations where I describe that a lot of my job is optimizing processes before I code them. This was a great article for the bulk of programmers that end up in business programming.

LennyWhiteJr 5y ago

> Yeah, WTF is wrong with that. Nothing is 'wrong' with it. You just do it at the detriment of your own career.

BulgarianIdiot 5y ago
That's the thesis in this article. But it's non-sense BS. Even an idiot can put two and two together and conclude that if their business value depends on programs, then programmers create business value.

slumdev 5y ago

> Yeah, WTF is wrong with that Nothing is wrong with it. Donald Knuth proudly describes himself as a programmer. But a good chunk of the people reading this comment probably make more money than he does, and title inflation is part of the stupid game we have to play to earn outsized rewards. So proceed with caution.

quietunivac 5y ago
"I am a programmer. On my 1040 form, that is what I put down as my occupation. As a programmer, I write programs." -- Ken Thompson, in his 1983 Turing Award lecture, "Reflections on Trusting Trust". https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/358198.358210 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/358198.358210

yawboakye 5y ago

Programmers program computers. No different than dentists drill teeth. Or maybe we should adopt some Latinized or Hellenized name to infuse some mysticism? That’s our mistake?

FartyMcFarter 5y ago
I think it's a bit different: there aren't many barely-trained (or untrained) people drilling teeth, but there are plenty of untrained programmers out there. However the "software engineer" title is also applied to a lot of untrained programmers, so I'm not saying that this term is analogous to "dentist" even if it should be.
- yawboakye 5y ago
  While I could agree with you, my fundamental disagreement rests on this: it is the practice that awards the title/description not the certification/training. I’m willing to submit the philosophical underpinnings of this argument but I believe even without that the statement above can stand on its own.
uomopertica 5y ago
> Hellenized name That’s literally it.
- yawboakye 5y ago
  I submit Claviculist (from Latin for one who works with small keys: Clavicularius).

swader999 5y ago

I called myself a systems analyst. We don't use the term engineer in my country. It leads to conversations where I describe that a lot of my job is optimizing processes before I code them. This was a great article for the bulk of programmers that end up in business programming.