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No, this isn't really the case. What I see, as the guy who wrote the book that tells people that learning to code is hard but possible, what people are realizi
by zedshaw 13y ago
No, this isn't really the case. What I see, as the guy who wrote the book that tells people that learning to code is hard but possible, what people are realizing is that programming is hard, but possible.
Programmers are simply confusing the fact that people are attempting to learn it and succeeding in greater numbers than before with the idea that all these new entrants all think it's easy. The truth is I see them all say it's damn hard, but if they put the work in they can learn it.
Another thing they realize after getting through my book is just how long it'll take to get good. They don't take what they've learned lightly, and they don't think it was trivial to learn. What this ends up doing is giving everyone who attempted it a healthy dose of respect for what we do.
I'm a coder. I've been a coder a huge chunk of my life. This attempt to label "coder" as some kind of idiot is really pissing me off, especially when I see it coming from programmers who don't realize that more people learning an introduction to code means more people will appreciate and understand what they do.
Now, the site is down so I haven't read the article, so take my comment as only replying to what you said, not the article.
- longtimeranon 13y ago> I'm a coder. I've been a coder a huge chunk of my life. This attempt to label "coder" as some kind of idiot is really pissing me off, If you want to call yourself a coder, fine. However, there is still a difference between Linus Torvalds and someone who, for example, has at most hacked a few things together in JavaScript, and I think the terminology should reflect that in more ways than just "beginner" and "expert." I also think calling ourselves "coders" and calling what we do "coding" isn't going to gain us the respect or prestige that terms like "software developer" or even "programmer" would. If you're happy being called a "coder," in the sense of "Zed Shaw is a great coder," that's fine, but personally, I'm not. > Now, the site is down so I haven't read the article It was down for me too. I was responding to the comments that seemed to take great offense at the apparently horrible, elitist idea that maybe, just maybe, it might be worthwhile to have a term that distinguishes professional developers from people who've done some exercises on code.org.
- cafard 13y agoIndeed. A little out of reach from where is sit is Jon Bentley's More Programming Pearls: Confessions of a Coder. Bentley certainly did not take it as derogatory term.