More Trouble with Programming

An interview with Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++. In response to coolest programs he mentions Google, Web Browsers, Mars Rovers and Adobe Photoshop. What I find most important is the point he makes about these programs work effectively under severe resource crunch.

What I makes me think is his response to the idea that a ‘helper’ programs that allows people to take up programming. He says: -

The idea of programming as a semiskilled task, practiced by people with a few months’ training, is dangerous. We wouldn’t tolerate plumbers or accountants that poorly educated. We don’t have as an aim that architecture (of buildings) and engineering (of bridges and trains) should become more accessible to people with progressively less training. Indeed, one serious problem is that currently, too many software developers are undereducated and undertrained.

I agree and disagree. We have 2 classes of software professionals; Software Developers/Engineers and programmers. The former design and create software. They need more training & broader skill set. The second group write programs; they have a design, the algorithm, which they need to translate from spoken language to computer language. I think this group needs less training and would greatly benefit from these ‘helper’ tools. Another think to remember is that all software is not mission critical and I believe needs to be academically perfect.