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Since 2002 half of everyone who's reached the age of 12 has learned enough HTML, CSS, Javascript, and can recognize PHP well enough to throw a basic, buggy webs

Since 2002 half of everyone who's reached the age of 12 has learned enough HTML, CSS, Javascript, and can recognize PHP well enough to throw a basic, buggy website together. Suddenly, a trip to "chrome://extensions/" means these semi-non-developers can write an app for their Chromebook(or even PC) without having to install or compile anything, let alone commit themselves to mastering a programming language. It shouldn't mean much for large projects, but it does mean companies can hire less-skilled "programmers" to churn out minimally viable products whether that be for bootstrapped start-ups or to satisfy the demand from businesses that want to say "look I have a presence on mobile."

msoad 13y ago
I coded C++ in "large projects" and now coding JavaScript in another large project. Language itself doesn't mean anything for defining "skilled programmers". Skilled programmers are not limited to language nor platform. You are calling out people who started learning programming with HTML and CSS and telling them they are not programmers but you don't realize that your first program with BASIC was basically same shitty code copied from your book and you were thinking you were a "programmer". I don't know you are skilled or not but I know you are not "professional".
pkulak 13y ago
How delightfully elitist and condescending of you.
- niggasbalting 13y ago
  Yeah, I need to work on my tone, because that came across exactly the opposite of how I intended.
olalonde 13y ago
I feel the same way about 3D printing. Now everyone and their mother can produce 3D objects without even committing themselves to mastering industrial design. And companies can now prototype half assed products cheaply without having to invest millions of dollars. This is truly a sad era...
lkbm 13y ago
I think your sample may be skewed toward rich, well-educated Americans--and probably the more tech-savvy of those as well.
72deluxe 13y ago
I think you're mildly right, and not attempting to be elitist as the other repliers said. I would agree that the minimum of skills would be required to write these apps, which I suppose is a good thing but then also a very bad thing because it may mean poor performance, rubbish design leading to bugs etc. This was sort of noticeable when Google had to add some fairly basic pointers on the developer site about not doing daft things in loops on Android. They were useful pointers, but pushing everything to the web where every man and his dog can write apps that perform badly whilst wobbling precariously on top of a browser interpreter doesn't seem ideal to me. Quick to write though, eh?!

msoad 13y ago

I coded C++ in "large projects" and now coding JavaScript in another large project. Language itself doesn't mean anything for defining "skilled programmers". Skilled programmers are not limited to language nor platform. You are calling out people who started learning programming with HTML and CSS and telling them they are not programmers but you don't realize that your first program with BASIC was basically same shitty code copied from your book and you were thinking you were a "programmer". I don't know you are skilled or not but I know you are not "professional".

pkulak 13y ago

How delightfully elitist and condescending of you.

niggasbalting 13y ago
Yeah, I need to work on my tone, because that came across exactly the opposite of how I intended.

olalonde 13y ago

I feel the same way about 3D printing. Now everyone and their mother can produce 3D objects without even committing themselves to mastering industrial design. And companies can now prototype half assed products cheaply without having to invest millions of dollars. This is truly a sad era...

lkbm 13y ago

I think your sample may be skewed toward rich, well-educated Americans--and probably the more tech-savvy of those as well.

72deluxe 13y ago

I think you're mildly right, and not attempting to be elitist as the other repliers said. I would agree that the minimum of skills would be required to write these apps, which I suppose is a good thing but then also a very bad thing because it may mean poor performance, rubbish design leading to bugs etc. This was sort of noticeable when Google had to add some fairly basic pointers on the developer site about not doing daft things in loops on Android. They were useful pointers, but pushing everything to the web where every man and his dog can write apps that perform badly whilst wobbling precariously on top of a browser interpreter doesn't seem ideal to me. Quick to write though, eh?!