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The future of programming

I've been thinking about the role that programming has in the world today, and the role it will have in the future. As a disclaimer, I'll mention that anything I write in this post is purely speculative, and not based at all on any form of research. This is just what I feel in my gut. As such, I'll try to keep it short, without ranting like Gene Ray.

As reading and writing were once the concern of only the privileged few, I feel that programming will become more ubiquitous with time. I don't believe that everyone will identify themselves as a programmer any more than people currently identify themselves as scribes, but most people will have the ability to read and write basic programs. Don't be afraid for your job just yet; there are still authors in the world, and people will still pay good money for someone with skill with a pen (or typewriter, or word processor). The fact that someone can jot down a set of instructions, or text a friend doesn't make them an author, and someone being able to build a simple macro won't make them a programmer.

This also won't be some fabled age of sci-fi enlightenment where average Joes and Janes hack system code to convince their washing machine to stop at precisely the right time. The programming languages that will be used will likely be more abstract than what we have now, and the programming tasks most people perform will be simple. When it happens, people will really think no more of it than they think of writing down a note. Don't go expecting large scale projects from your mother just yet.

So why do I think this will happen?

Programming languages are slowly becoming more accessible to people with less formal training. Add to this the web, and now mobile revolutions - people are becoming more aware of computers, and more willing to attempt to create rather than just consume. Almost all businesses now days use a computer somewhere in their daily routine; whether it be tracking stock through a specialised warehouse system, or taking orders on an iPad, computers are creeping more and more into our daily lives.

I think that it's a natural progression that people will eventually feel the need to customise and control what they do - to simplify their jobs. The devices we'll have will offer end-points that are painless to access from a simple program. The programming language itself may not even be text - it could be dragging boxes into order on a screen, or even physical connections between simple devices.

I look forward to the day where I can explain an issue to a client and have them know what I'm talking about. I look forward to the day when computers aren't magical machines, that people are suspicious and afraid of. I look forward to the day when people innately understand the difference between the code and the system, like they understand the difference between the engine and the car.

That's what I see as the future of programming. There's a lot of work to go before we're there, and much of that is convincing current professionals to stop working programs up as a magical, mystical enterprise. With a little education, I believe that most people could learn to program today. It's easier than learning a new language (believe me - I'm trying to do that) because most of the concepts already exist in everyone's day-to-day.

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