19 July 2006
Why Johnny can’t program
Posted by Mikhail Esteves under: General .
What is it about traditional “programming” that keeps regular people from routinely doing it? And, when they do control a computer, why do some programming systems find wide usage among the “non-programmers” (like spreadsheets) and others don’t (like C++)? I have some ideas why.
What is “programming”? A “program” could be defined as “a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result” (the “official” copyright law definition). “Programming” is creating those statements or instructions. The key to our question here, I believe, is how the author constructs those statements or instructions, and how they can correctly anticipate the results.
