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And yet you need to be a dentist to work on someone's teeth, a doctor to prescribe medical treatment or a pilot to fly a plane. Yes, you can program without be

And yet you need to be a dentist to work on someone's teeth, a doctor to prescribe medical treatment or a pilot to fly a plane. Yes, you can program without being a programmer, just as you can drive a city car to your office and back, but you won't take that same city car to Monza and expect to beat Ferrari's Formula One team in a race. So let's dispense with the sophistry and admit that you need to learn a specific skill set to do a skilled job and that you need adequate tools for that job.

rprasad 14y ago
A race car driver is a very different thing from a driver. There are also restrictions placed on who can be a race car driver. It sounds like what you are really saying is that programmers need to be certified by a professional trade organization, following a period of 2-6 years of education and apprenticeship, enforced by law. After all, that is what separates doctors, dentists, lawyers, and accountants from other professions. (Race car drivers have contracts and other measures to enforce exclusivity, as racing is generally illegal except on dedicated courses or in licensed races.) Programming is a skill/trade. It is not a profession. That is a good thing. If programming were a profession, it would not be open to everyone to learn and do.