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I do a bit in my IT classes where I show a "spectrum" of computer activities, from "changing a screensaver" to "Assembly" and then challenge people to find the
by jrm4 4mo ago
I do a bit in my IT classes where I show a "spectrum" of computer activities, from "changing a screensaver" to "Assembly" and then challenge people to find the line where "using a computer" stops and "programming a computer" starts.
It was already very fuzzy (Excel?). Soon, this line be non-existent.
- skydhash 4mo agoAs soon as you’re specifying instructions for the computer to do a task automatically, you’re programming it. It can be recording a macro, writing a script, describing it in something like Shortcuts,… The core thing is automation.
- jrm4 4mo agoNot convinced this is clear at all? I'm typing a document in, lets say -- word. I want it to say "Come to my awesome awesome awesome party." If I type it out, it's not programming, but if I ctrl-c + then ctrl-v twice, it is?
- skydhash 4mo agoCopy-pasting is not programming, no more than clicking the save button is. But text expansion may be seen as such, especially when it involves dynamic elements (like current date and time). It may not be a clean delineation but, IMO, it's the difference between writing a recipe and doing the dish. Copy-pasting twice is making a dish. Creating a button that let the computer do it is writing a recipe.