I was talking with another developer this week. And they used a phrase around programming that was interesting to me.
They loved the feeling of writing to code “command machines”
Here is another factoid about yours truly. I never thought about programming that way. I always thought of writing code as an attempt to communicate with the machine. And when I got the code “right” then the machine would grant my request.
But it was on me to learn how to communicate, to follow the social contract with machines (code that would compile and run).
Sure I didn’t think about all that when I was 13 and learning Color Basic.
Then, I just appreciated there was a clear way to communicate with this machine and I needed to learn it. In my learning the machine was infinitely patient, unwavering in its standard, and welcoming to me when I finally got it right. The feedback was always honest and pure.
Perhaps that’s a whacky way to think of it but that’s always been my approach. I’ve always been learning how to ask, not figuring out how to “command”.
See no fancy call-to-action here, nothing to sell. Just a blog post. A throwback to the early days of the web.