Is programming an art or a science?
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
i'd say it's more of a 'craft'. it's not as disciplined as a science, but it's more practical than an art. -c
There's one easy way to prove the effectiveness of 'letting the market decide' when it comes to environmental protection. It's spelt 'S-U-V'. --Holgate, from Plastic
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i'd say it's more of a 'craft'. it's not as disciplined as a science, but it's more practical than an art. -c
There's one easy way to prove the effectiveness of 'letting the market decide' when it comes to environmental protection. It's spelt 'S-U-V'. --Holgate, from Plastic
I guess it depends on what type of programming you do, too. If you are involved in designing the code, then it is more of an art. If you just implement an existing deesign, or code up a specific algorithm, then it's more of a science. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
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Science. Thinking of it as an art does no good and only causes you to come up with useless and silly opinions about programming. :) Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
I'd say it is a young science in a emperical stage. Marc Clifton wrote: I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. In a past life I was an engineer in the SemiConductor industry. And, why most of everything we did was driven by pure science one would derive a sense of artistic satisifaction by a subtle well engineered solution. I think too many people belive that because you are following a scientific foundation / ideas you can't be creative inside that structure. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
I'm a strong beleiver of the...idea...of programming beeing some of both. Programming is a science because there are, though few, certain laws that one must abide by. Depending on the language and platform, these laws can hamper or release your creativity. Programming is also an art for the sole reason that to program you have to be creative. You have to imagine and extrapolate and obfuscate :wtf: and whatever else to twist your program into the creature you want it to be. This often requires more creativity than logic. So while programming is a science, its more of a creative art. :-D
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i'd say it's more of a 'craft'. it's not as disciplined as a science, but it's more practical than an art. -c
There's one easy way to prove the effectiveness of 'letting the market decide' when it comes to environmental protection. It's spelt 'S-U-V'. --Holgate, from Plastic
I agree to a certain extent. Most programming is just like construction so we are like "blacksmiths" only our work doesn't require as much physical exertion. It does require an imaginitave person to program some things, so I believe that there is a certain degree of art involved. It is when a person is developing a new programminng language or writing new algorithms that the science aspect comes into play. Just my 2 cents. Later. Brad Jennings
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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I guess it depends on what type of programming you do, too. If you are involved in designing the code, then it is more of an art. If you just implement an existing deesign, or code up a specific algorithm, then it's more of a science. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Navin wrote: . If you are involved in designing the code, then it is more of an art. I'd say this is where it should be aproached as more of a Science ie. following good design guidelines (exanple avoiding tight coupling and low cohesion) and best know practices. God knows how many late nights at work I've had because our System Architect considered himself an artist. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
An engineer without a sense of art is a mechanical robot. :) -- This space for rent.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
definitely more an art. However, the closer you get to the hardware the more scientific it becomes. BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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Science. Thinking of it as an art does no good and only causes you to come up with useless and silly opinions about programming. :) Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art.
Thinking of it as an art does no good and only causes you to come up with useless and silly opinions about programming. I think so too, but if it's a science, shouldn't I be able to demonstratably prove that one implementation is better (or at least equal) to another, without actually doing the implementation???. Or am I mixing metaphors, in the sense that there is really no theoretical aspect to programming--it's all applied? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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Isn't at least part of programming "don't stop tinking about it just because it sounds silly"?
If I could find a souvenir / just to prove the world was here [sighist]
Well, for those of us that actually think, yes. :laugh: But, in the vein of Richard Feynman's lifestyle, yes, one should always think about even silly things in programming (and just about anything else). This is what makes "science", I guess. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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Both, and you can compensate lack of one with the other.
If I could find a souvenir / just to prove the world was here [sighist]
and you can compensate lack of one with the other. Aahh. To a point. OK, how about this--people who are more imaginative tend to be "artistic" in their programming--innovative, more risk taking, while people with less imagination tend to be "scientific"--tried and true technologies and solutions. It seems that both can lead to disaster if taken to the extreme, and neither alone can solve certain complex problems. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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If you have ever seen some of my code, you'd know that it can also be neither. :-O Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
You must be a graduate of The Jackson Pollock School Of Programming. I attended there too! :laugh: Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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i'd say it's more of a 'craft'. it's not as disciplined as a science, but it's more practical than an art. -c
There's one easy way to prove the effectiveness of 'letting the market decide' when it comes to environmental protection. It's spelt 'S-U-V'. --Holgate, from Plastic
it's more of a 'craft' Mmmm. The answer that brings balance to the two extremes. Well said! Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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An engineer without a sense of art is a mechanical robot. :) -- This space for rent.
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I'd say it is a young science in a emperical stage. Marc Clifton wrote: I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. In a past life I was an engineer in the SemiConductor industry. And, why most of everything we did was driven by pure science one would derive a sense of artistic satisifaction by a subtle well engineered solution. I think too many people belive that because you are following a scientific foundation / ideas you can't be creative inside that structure. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.
I'd say it is a young science in a emperical stage. Early 1900's then. :-D I think too many people belive that because you are following a scientific foundation / ideas you can't be creative inside that structure. I agree. What comes to mind is how our educational system seems to stifle the creativity part. So, one can have a set of programming tools/guidelines that are based on solid "science" but apply them creatively? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
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Or a mixture of both? and how much in each category? What are your thoughts, and where do you think programming is an art, and where do you think it is a science? An by art, I'm not referring to GUI or web design or any other graphical element. I mean "art" in the inspirational sense of creativity--the "ah ha" experience when writing a nifty function, for example. Personally, I would say that programming is more of an art, but it has the potential to become more of a science. Sort of like being a doctor in the 19th century vs. in the 21st century. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Obviously an art, as is the job of an engineer. It is was about science, how to explain all these bugs ? :rolleyes: It would be in the same category than astrology :-D
Ohé Partisans, Ouvriers et Paysans C'est l'alarme! Le Chant des Partisans
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I'm a strong beleiver of the...idea...of programming beeing some of both. Programming is a science because there are, though few, certain laws that one must abide by. Depending on the language and platform, these laws can hamper or release your creativity. Programming is also an art for the sole reason that to program you have to be creative. You have to imagine and extrapolate and obfuscate :wtf: and whatever else to twist your program into the creature you want it to be. This often requires more creativity than logic. So while programming is a science, its more of a creative art. :-D
To use Chris Losinger's word: a "craft"? I'm wondering how much of the creative part of programming could actually be done mechanically at the present time. Are there are set of rules that can get you to the 80-90% mark of implementing a quality program? This is not intended to obsolete the programmer, but to free him/her to perform truly creative tasks. (We've heard that line before, and it always seems to turn out to simply change our tasks, never really freeing us. Reminds me of the book "How Technology Bites Back") Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.