4 ms·

I'd long ago (1990s-era) heard that the original intent was that office secretaries would write their own SQL queries. (I'd love for someone to substantiate or

I'd long ago (1990s-era) heard that the original intent was that office secretaries would write their own SQL queries. (I'd love for someone to substantiate or debunk this for me.)

bazoom42 1y ago
Early on, programming was considered secretarial work.
- AdieuToLogic 1y ago
  > Early on, programming was considered secretarial work. Incorrect. Encoding a program was considered secretarial work, not the act of programming itself. Over time, "encoding" was shortened to "coding." This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor.
  - eru 1y ago
    > This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor. For some people some of the time. I don't think that's true in general.
  - 0points 1y ago
    > This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor. It is not.
    - brabel 1y ago
      It used to be widely seen as such. See for example Stallmanns latest post where he mentions that. Coder was not the same as programmer, it was the lesser half of the job. Nowadays the term has lost its original meaning.
rsynnott 1y ago
That's always the promise of these things; non-specialists will be able to program now! This has been going on since COBOL. The one case where it arguably worked out to some extent was spreadsheets.
- bluGill 1y ago
  Anyone with complex spreadsheets (which is a lot of companies) has a few programmers with the job of maintaining them. The more training those people have in "proper programming" the better the spreadsheets work.
jimbokun 1y ago
I would say that failed with SQL but succeeded with Excel. If you replace "office secretaries" with "office workers" in general.
ahmeneeroe-v2 1y ago
It kinda came true. "Office secretaries" became PMs/junior analysts/etc and those people generally know basic SQL nowadays
gsinclair 1y ago
I heard that from a lecturer too. It really stuck in the memory.

I'd long ago (1990s-era) heard that the original intent was that office secretaries would write their own SQL queries. (I'd love for someone to substantiate or debunk this for me.)

bazoom42 1y ago

Early on, programming was considered secretarial work.

AdieuToLogic 1y ago
> Early on, programming was considered secretarial work. Incorrect. Encoding a program was considered secretarial work, not the act of programming itself. Over time, "encoding" was shortened to "coding." This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor.
- eru 1y ago
  > This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor. For some people some of the time. I don't think that's true in general.
- 0points 1y ago
  > This is why the industry term "coder" is a pejorative descriptor. It is not.
  - brabel 1y ago
    It used to be widely seen as such. See for example Stallmanns latest post where he mentions that. Coder was not the same as programmer, it was the lesser half of the job. Nowadays the term has lost its original meaning.

rsynnott 1y ago

That's always the promise of these things; non-specialists will be able to program now! This has been going on since COBOL. The one case where it arguably worked out to some extent was spreadsheets.

bluGill 1y ago
Anyone with complex spreadsheets (which is a lot of companies) has a few programmers with the job of maintaining them. The more training those people have in "proper programming" the better the spreadsheets work.

jimbokun 1y ago

I would say that failed with SQL but succeeded with Excel. If you replace "office secretaries" with "office workers" in general.

ahmeneeroe-v2 1y ago

It kinda came true. "Office secretaries" became PMs/junior analysts/etc and those people generally know basic SQL nowadays

gsinclair 1y ago

I heard that from a lecturer too. It really stuck in the memory.