When did Programmers become Developers?

[Member 4608898]

I was first called a software developer in 1996. That is when I first saw it in the job press. Don't remember seeing the term before that but then again, I wasn't looking for a job.

[Member 4608898]

Oh yes, forgot about those. On the engineering front, they have Junior SW Engineer, SW Engineer, Senior SW Engineer, Junior Principal SWE, Principal SWE and Senior Principal SWE and of course the Software Consultant or subcontractor. In some places they just use grade numbers: Engineer 3, Engineer 4 etc. The fancy titles are reserved for documents.

[KP Lee]

I like how you combine examples of how building code isn't anything like constructing physical structures with justifications for calling it building. Graduating as an ME, I know there is a lot that's unknown in the beginning of a building project. There are people who will want anti-gravity engines built into their project and you have to explain to them you don't know how to design that. So there are similar expectations in both fields. The Tacoma Narrows bridge is a famous example of new requirements combined with people not trained to handle the new technology causing disaster. The analogy between building and programming is closer than most developers realize. The only real difference is that bad building design usually shows up right at the start of the project, while programmers are expected to start building before they actually know what they will be building.

[Mark Whybird]

You're right about software dev itself being more like both structural and, even more so, mechanical engineering than most devs think, but it is also much LESS like physical engineering in terms of Project Management than some PMs and managers are led to think. I have a really good friend who trained as a CE and is now in software and we often tease each other about the differences, but in truth there really are similarities. Its really the (project) management that is the issue in terms of falsely perceived similarities. p.s; off topic: your note about anti-gravity houses reminds me... In this part of the world, houses were traditionally (i.e. more than say 60 years ago) usually built up high on sturdy pillars to allow air circulation underneath. Often these days, that underneath space is enclosed for more living space. I was talking once to a builder about costs of having excess posts removed underneath. He said "$300 per post, regardless." I asked what he meant by regardless, and he said that there was always a way to remove any post, and his charge would be $300 per post. I wasn't perfectly serious when I immediately asked him to remove every single one, but if he could have made the house float for that price, it would have been totally worth it :)

[bobc4012]

Disagree - there is a difference. Developers do more than just write code. As a developer, I took marketing requirements, produced a documented design specifications, and supervised coders (in later years, contractors) who just wrote code and unit tested and fixeed any bugs. I also wrote code too for some pieces. Personally, I don't get hung up on people using the words interchangeably. It is usually the new hires/junior people who are "programmers" and as they gain experience they transition into a developer role. BTW, its not to say that coders/programmers can't provide input and make suggestions. Even the less experienced are capable of seeing something that more experienced may have missed.

[etkid84]

at least I like to think that I take a more thoughtful, analytical, disciplined, rigorous, and especially clever approach to doing whatever I do, i.e. write code, develop code, etc.

David

[Simon Lee Shugar]

http://www.yosefk.com/blog/do-call-yourself-a-programmer-and-other-career-advice.html[^] An alternate view to "Don't call yourself a programmer" so far it seems 50/50 to me after reading all of the posts here.

Simon Lee Shugar (Software Developer) www.simonshugar.co.uk "You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the grim reaper" - Robert Alton Harris

[mycroft1]

Don't forget the shampoo girl!

[Graeme_]

I think both are interchangeable and mean pretty much the same thing, both can cover the same multitude of the sins. I would say the difference is that 'computer programmer' was a term which was must more common in the 80's and early nineties, a time when computer fluency was much less common, As such had a lot of negative connotations, images of spectacled geeks sitting in the computer room during their lunchtimes playing on their php while the cool kids played sports in the playground. 'Software Developer' I'd say came into vogue more during the late 90's and 2000's, around the same time that the Internet started to take off. A time when those 'geeks' where becoming billionaires (on paper anyway). And I think this has continued through to today, especially when everyone is fairly computer literate nowadays and becoming a developer is seen as a valid path to stability, success and riches, Basically I'd say they're the same thing. But girls take 'developers' to their high school prom (metaphorically), whereas as popular girls definitely don't date 'programmers' :-)

[Chad3F]

Probably about the same time that Janitors became Custodial Technicians (or maybe that was when Programmers became Software Engineers). It is really just a fancier term that means about the same thing. Of course mileage will vary, depending on what each term means to each person/organization. :wtf: What? Not confused enough? Ohh.. you wanted the Answers office. This is Extra Confusion. You want room 12A. -- Variation of a Monty Python sketch.