Programming: Art or Assembly?

In recent years computers have become involved in every aspect of our lives, from communication and entertainment through to transportation, health, education, and business. The demand for microchips and computers is continually on the rise and as such, so is the demand for programmers. It’s not surprising to now come across job applicants that have begun their programming career following a mere 4 months studying; for those that began their careers at the same time as me, this can be hard to believe.

I started my programming career in the nineties when Google and internet learning was non-existent. I recall years of reading books and using tedious trial and error methods to discover the solution. Programmers were often viewed as “artists”, taking an abstract problem, and presenting it through code that not many would truly understand. Today, things have changed, and we need to think of programming differently.

Programming is now a tool that can bring knowledge and skills to the masses. Computer programming is being promoted in classrooms, you can build websites by drag and drop and assemble reusable pieces of code quickly and simply to create complex solutions. Our world now demands solutions to be delivered quickly and at low cost; and the new world of programming allows that.

However, this can present problems. Mass production and pressure to deliver can lead to a superficial understanding of the problem trying to be solved. In a worst-case scenario this can lead to system failure. Whilst it’s acceptable to reboot your laptop or mobile phone from time to time, there are certain circumstances where failure is simply not an option. In mission critical environments programming can be one of the most challenging jobs on the market requiring high skill, constant learning, experience and importantly, time to address the problem at hand.

At KRM22 we build systems that must function under times of high stress – they must be resilient and withstand major market events. Attention to detail is key and we instil a rigorous process of testing, stressing and fine tuning before putting code into production and in the hands of the customer.

Creating great works of art takes skill, time and perseverance; creating a great piece of software requires the same. Working with my team I see it daily, time invested is well returned.