Comments on: Software is hard! http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html Productive software development using ASP.NET, C#, Adobe Flex, and other technologies and tools. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:26:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: superjason http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html/comment-page-1#comment-399 superjason Sun, 25 May 2008 12:30:24 +0000 http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html#comment-399 Paul, note that I said "Software creation" is an art and a science, not "coding". In my job, good or bad, I'm basically talking directly to customers and I'm responsible for solving their problems, not just writing specific code that is asked for. Paul, note that I said “Software creation” is an art and a science, not “coding”.

In my job, good or bad, I’m basically talking directly to customers and I’m responsible for solving their problems, not just writing specific code that is asked for.

]]> By: Paul http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html/comment-page-1#comment-398 Paul Sun, 25 May 2008 04:26:16 +0000 http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html#comment-398 While I agree with you on most of the points, I would not call coding an art or a science. We are coding monkeys, that is all. And yes, we are not following a set of rules most of the time, but then again, we are reusing code over and over again. I have been doing this for about 10 years now, and I am not considering this art or science or engineering or any of these fancy things for that matter. While programming is hard, selling is much harder, simply because you are not dealing with machines but with people, and your goal is to get their money. Managing developers is harder then programming - trust me on this one. As far as your uncle is concerned - my boss loves to do this to me: "Can we just add a button to do a certain feature" - I have to explain to him that it is very easy to add a button, but to code what that button actually does, that is a whole new thing. While I agree with you on most of the points, I would not call coding an art or a science. We are coding monkeys, that is all. And yes, we are not following a set of rules most of the time, but then again, we are reusing code over and over again. I have been doing this for about 10 years now, and I am not considering this art or science or engineering or any of these fancy things for that matter. While programming is hard, selling is much harder, simply because you are not dealing with machines but with people, and your goal is to get their money. Managing developers is harder then programming – trust me on this one.

As far as your uncle is concerned – my boss loves to do this to me:

“Can we just add a button to do a certain feature” – I have to explain to him that it is very easy to add a button, but to code what that button actually does, that is a whole new thing.

]]> By: Arjan`s World » LINKBLOG for May 24, 2008 http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html/comment-page-1#comment-397 Arjan`s World » LINKBLOG for May 24, 2008 Sat, 24 May 2008 15:27:24 +0000 http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html#comment-397 [...] Software is hard! - Jason Young ‘ Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. You’re not going to piece together code snippets from the web and create a great product ‘ [...] [...] Software is hard! – Jason Young ‘ Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. You’re not going to piece together code snippets from the web and create a great product ‘ [...]

]]> By: Obishawn http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html/comment-page-1#comment-394 Obishawn Fri, 23 May 2008 12:39:57 +0000 http://www.ytechie.com/2008/05/software-is-hard.html#comment-394 Writing a piece of software is like a chef coming up with a brand new recipe or a furniture maker creating a new chair that is different from all other chairs, or an artist coming up with a painting that stands out from the rest, or an author writing a story that hasn't already been written. Software developers are not following some set of instructions to write the software. They are using every last bit of their creative juices to not only make the software do what it's supposed to do, but to do it well, in the simplest way possible and be the most flexible so that the software isn't at the end of it's life cycle the moment the first version is released. A complex machine like a car can be built in a very short time. However, designing a brand new car takes a very long time even though it works on the same principles that all other automobiles work on. Do people ask car companies why it takes them so long to design a new car? If so, then I feel for them because they are in the same boat as software developers. Writing a piece of software is like a chef coming up with a brand new recipe or a furniture maker creating a new chair that is different from all other chairs, or an artist coming up with a painting that stands out from the rest, or an author writing a story that hasn’t already been written.

Software developers are not following some set of instructions to write the software. They are using every last bit of their creative juices to not only make the software do what it’s supposed to do, but to do it well, in the simplest way possible and be the most flexible so that the software isn’t at the end of it’s life cycle the moment the first version is released.

A complex machine like a car can be built in a very short time. However, designing a brand new car takes a very long time even though it works on the same principles that all other automobiles work on. Do people ask car companies why it takes them so long to design a new car? If so, then I feel for them because they are in the same boat as software developers.

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