ALL Art including the Art of Programming is Contextual
Early in life I used to think there was a ‘right’ way of programming, or a ‘right’ way of solving a programming problem.
I think this is a common disease and so want to write a few words to help those who might likewise be afflicted with this idea of ‘rightness’ in programming.
Warning
The words below are my own personal understanding and opinions on this subject. They are carefully chosen, but like all opinions they are fleeting and are an expression of my thoughts at the place and time that I’m writing them from.
My context
I’m an old software developer who has been programming and building and messing around with computers since my childhood. I’ve been fascinated by, devoted to, and have dedicated, a large part of my life to programming. I’m a practitioner not an academic. As the tagline on my resume says I ‘live to code, and code to live’.
Programming is not Engineering, not a Science. It is more. It is Art
My understanding of the field of ‘software development’ aka ‘programming’ or ‘coding’ or any of the other names for writing ‘source code’ to be transformed into something a machine can usefully interpret, goes against the grain.
I beg to share my idea of what programming is, and why I rankle whenever someone uses the term ‘Computer Science’ to describe what I do, or calls myself and other software developers/programmers ‘software engineers’. I don’t take offense, but it rubs me the wrong way, like when someone mispronounces a word I think ought to be pronounced the way I say it.
Engineering according to wikipedia is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines
Science according to wikipedia is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe
I think both of these definitions are reasonable and align well with my thinking.
Note that engineering is about building machines and science is about building knowledge.
Also note that engineering is NOT science, it uses science.
Science itself uses things like logic but one would not say science is logic. Logic is just a tool to science, as science is a tool to engineering.
So both science and engineering use logic, which itself is another field that has its own set of things it depends upon, ad infinitum…
I think it is fair to say that ‘software development’ in a similar way uses some engineering principles, just as engineering uses some scientific principles. But I would not call programming ‘engineering’ anymore than I think an engineer would call what they do ‘science-ing’.
The other additional component that I think is too often overlooked (even by programmers) is that programming uses other fields like linguistics (study of language), and semantics (study of meaning).
Engineering is about making a machine that moves in a desired way by making use of the given laws of physics.
As a programmer I think of an idea, and if I speak it clearly enough, the universe obeys.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
— Bible, King James Version
There are names for someone who studies and speaks special languages, whose mere words can have powerful direct effects upon the world. They are sometimes called wizards, or magicians, if they become powerful enough, it is hard to distinguish them from gods (what would you call an entity that ‘spoke a world into being’?).
I don’t claim any of these titles, but I think it is important to know this is the area one is delving into by programming. This isn’t just engineering, this isn’t just science. This is world building.
As a programmer, I do this:
type Darkness = 0;
type Light = 1;
type Visible = Darkness | Light;(this reads as ‘there is a kind of thing called ‘Visible’ that is either ‘Darkness’ or ‘Light’).
The important thing to note is that this isn’t just ‘kind of like’ that famous verse from the Bible, I claim it is deeply equivalent, and that this is an important thing to understand if one wishes to understand the act of ‘programming’ and how it differs from ‘engineering’ or ‘science’.
In programming, I’m not acting as a scientist trying to ‘figure out’ the world. There is nothing easily recognized as science going on. Whatever meaning/knowledge exists, is the meaning I the programmer am creating, no need to attempt to hypothesize/test-for knowledge/meaning, I’m building meaning by communicating with language.
I’m not putting together a ‘machine’ with a purpose in the above code (What is the purpose of Darkness other than to act as the opposite of Light?). There is no recognizable engineering going on. True this may eventually run on a machine which will ‘do something’, but maybe not. This source code may never be compiled outside of this post, yet it still serves to communicate with language and therefore create meaning.
I have ‘spoken’ and created ‘light’ by dividing light from darkness.
I have now created a universe with light and dark. I can build upon this and create whatever my creativity and imagination allows me by combining language and meaning to tell a story. It is more akin to writing a novel, that creates a world for those who read it.
But programming is a bit more than writing literature, which are stories only other humans can read.
If I now combine this new universe with engineering, I can have this new creation affect other worlds such as the ‘real’ or ‘physical’ world in a reliable way (engineering principles are handy for reliability). All I have to do is create a mapping between the world I created, and the world I want to connect it with.
In programming we call this mapping thing ‘compiling the source code’ to a particular target machine . The machine is the thing that acts on behalf of the compiled program. The compiled ‘thing’ is often called an ‘executable’, but it is a direct translation of the original source code the programmer wrote (or ‘spoke’ or ‘uttered’), to another language that a particular machine can ‘read’ or ‘understand’.
Side note: Sometimes we use funny words like ‘daemon’ for some of our creations that act on our behalf between worlds…because some of us have retained a sense of humor about the whole thing. :)
What is the difference between an Art and a Science?
Science is concerned with gaining knowledge for its own sake.
Art is about the application of knowledge to achieve some effect upon the world. It is about crafting and making things, or other forms of ‘expressing’ a thought or idea upon the world like dancing or singing a song.
The easiest way to do something is the right way
— unknown
I read the above in a science fiction book long ago (can’t remember the name of the author/book (if you know please let me know and I’ll update, the main character was an engineer, and he was driven from his society because he dared to invent a new thing as I recall)).
This quote stuck with me because of its hidden ‘truism’. One could also say ‘the right way to do something is the easy way’.
Once one knows ‘a way’ to do something, that way becomes ‘the way’ to do that thing. Once one discovers ‘another way’ of doing something then the right way is whichever way is ‘easiest’.
So what is ‘the easiest’?
There is no ‘the’ answer to this question.
Easy is time and place (aka context) sensitive. There is no single ‘easy’ way of doing something. The answer to ‘easy’ depends on the context.
Put another way: there is no ‘right way’ of doing something. The ‘right way’ always depends on context.
What is the ‘right song’, or the ‘right painting’, or the ‘right clothing’?
This goes deeper…
When painting, what is the ‘right color’ to use?
When singing, what is the ‘right key’ to sing in?
When choosing a pair of shoes, what is the ‘right style’ to choose?
And deeper….
When color choosing, what is the ‘right pigment’ to use?
etc… (hopefully you get the point)
‘Right’ depends on context, but also critically depends on what possibilities exist, and what constraints (limits) one is working under which I will claim is always a subjective choice.
Questions and Answers
What is the ‘right’ programming language? What is the ‘right’ programming paradigm? What is the ‘right’ abstraction? What is the ‘right’ pattern? What is the ‘right’ name for this variable?
What one programmer chooses in answer to these questions will always be somewhat different than what another programmer chooses (maybe event that same individual the next day).
What is the ‘right fashion’ of dress to wear? Some would say whatever happens to be ‘in style’ at the time. Others might argue that there are certain dresses that are ‘timeless’ and to go with those. Still others might wear what is comfortable, or something personally meaningful (like grandma’s wedding dress).
After much careful consideration I therefore say: one should choose whichever ‘feels’ the easiest at the time, and not worry too much about it. This also means don’t focus too much about things being ‘wrong’. Make it a bit better if one is so inclined, otherwise accept the ‘wrongness’ as a ‘flavor’ or ‘style’ that is not to one’s present taste. It is OK to be and allow others to be ‘wrong’. It is also OK to attempt to ‘right’ a ‘wrong’, but know this is an endless task, which can bring joy or suffering depending on how it is approached.
Yes, that means programming, like all creative endeavors is based on personal taste, and everyone is going to be a bit different. I’ll further argue that this is OK and healthy to have a wide range of styles and tastes in the wild, because that is what makes all forms of art fun and interesting and worthwhile.
‘Solved’ games are boring, and not worth the effort of playing.
I don’t see programming ever being ‘solved’, for the same reasons that I don’t see any other form of art from cooking to chair-making being ‘solved’. There may be fashion trends that stick around for longer or shorter periods, but the possibility space is so large, and there are so many interesting stories to tell that I have no fear of becoming bored as a programmer.
Conclusion
Whatever one does today will always be re-interpreted as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in the future depending on the context of whomever is looking back (even one’s self). Don’t sweat it. Have fun, and create the ‘right’ thing in this moment. :)
Originally published at https://github.com.
