I want to fix programming | jonbho.
This looks like a really interesting series. Jon Beltran de Heredia Olazabal has a problem with programming, the fundamental concept of programming. More than that though, he’s been formulating a proposed solution for his core issue with programming.
Many times you’ll hear developers call out a certain system of programming, development, or piece of software as a piece of junk but not really have much to back it up other than a community of like-minded zealots. I like Jon’s approach: define the problem, propose a solution.
I really like that this article got me thinking about programming from 30,000 feet. While I may not completely align with the proposed solution or even the core issue taken with programming itself, I love the thought process.
Comments
I would be careful to say that he proposed a solution. Even by the end of his article, he still has the same problems he defined at the beginning of his article.
I agree that it’s pretty amazing that computers even boot up (I sometimes think the same thing about automobiles – it’s amazing they don’t just blow up).
The interesting take away that I have is his example of telling his friend to get him a beer, and how you wouldn’t tell him all of the little steps in the middle. I feel like what’s described here is more about machine learning and algorithms (even robotics). Very smart people currently work on things like this every day and it’s incredibly hard. They work to essentially replicate brain processing through a computer – yet we don’t even know how our own brains work.
Computers are stupid, and the only way they know how to do things is if we tell them. The deeper we go, the more we hit constraints with the processors and memory themselves. It’s a wonderfully tangled web we weave. ha.