I discovered a cool article by an IT guy named Eric Sink, where he discusses whether people who write code should be called programmers or software engineers. He argues that the title software engineer is an inappropriate title, because given the time, a group of monkeys banging away at computers could produce code for software.
In case you guys haven't heard the story behind the name of the blog, here is a short version. A former supervisor (whom I really respected) said in a team meeting that we shouldn't be programmers, we should all become consultants, because you can hire a monkey to program a computer. I found it so funny that I brought in a Barrel of Monkeys game, and at the next team meeting, I gave a plastic monkey to each of the programmers.
Monday, May 29, 2006
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Mary, I think he said "Theoretically, a monkey sitting at the keyboard might accidentally of typed the same string", which is a little different from "given the time, a group of monkeys banging away at computers could produce code for software". Anyone who thinks (and I do not lump Eric Sink into this camp) that a programmer can be replaced by an intelligent monkey is seriously deluded about how great software actually gets made. Only the best can make great applications, corrilarily, having the best is no huge barrier to shipping Yawnware. The ingredients of a great software product remain as elusive as the ingredients of a great ballet company, a great rock band or a great sculptor. There are some hueristics, but these are no gaurantees.
ReplyDeleteYou've got me there. I paraphrased recklessly. I was just so excited about the chance to re-tell the story about the programming monkeys, that I did not quote directly or correctly. Eric Sink doesn't seriously believe that "programmers = monkeys", and I didn't mean to imply that by taking his reference out of context. I was hoping to just convey a tounge in cheek reference.
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