Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Is Programming An Art

Or a Craft? Or a Science? Or neither of them? Or All?
Damn, you are as confused as I was! But even before you dive into it, can you attempt to define art/craft; in a sense that majority of people interpret it?

This in an interesting
thread of discussion I caught on /.

"A constant question for software developers is 'What is the nature of programming?' Is it art or science? Does creativity or engineering lead the design and implementation of a program?
John Littler talked to several well-known and well-respected programmers (including Guido van Rossum, Andy Hunt, Bjarne Stroustrup, Paul Graham, and Richard Stallman) to find their answers; he shares their thoughts and his own in Art and Computer Programming."

You can find his complete article here:
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/artofprog.html

If you go through it, feel free to share your views with me. Personally, I found Richard Stallman's view to be most suitable:

I would describe programming as a craft, which is a kind of art, but not a fine art. Craft means making useful objects with perhaps decorative touches. Fine art means making things purely for their beauty.

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