So this one keeps rumbling on. Are programmers software craftsmen ? Are we employed to execute a craft ? What does that even mean ? If it is a craft, does that mean some people are not in the club ? Does it matter if we are ? Or are not ?
I've written some really shit code over my years, and I've written it for some terrible reasons. And some good reasons. What do those reasons mean as a person ? Or a programmer ? Or a craftsmen ?
I've written code that was crap for the following main reasons :
1) I didn't know any better, and was doing as best I could
2) I was under krazy-with-a-K timescales, the company didn't give a rats arse about quality, and just wanted it, *anything*, out the door
3) I was lazy and/or disinterested in the task at hand
Uncle Bob (and I'm a big fan - "Clean code" was a wake-up call for me a few years ago) would most likely say that those 3 reasons for writing crap code are what made me not a craftsmen - I was a disgrace to my name as a programmer.
He wants to be able to distinguish between script monkeys banging out that kind of crap code, and the people who actually give a rats arse. And fair play to him - I get the sentiment.
Dan North would also say those 3 reasons for writing crap code are inexcusable too - but for differrent reasons. I'm guessing his argument would be that none of those reasons for writing code was actually focused on business value. If I understand his position (and I may not!), he would possibly argue that the main reason for writing code is to give the business employing you value - in terms of cost, return, and investment.
What's funny is that to me, I would guess (and I say guess, because this is all just conjecture - I don't actually know Mr North or Mr Martin) that both of those guys would agree that code should be focused on business value/deliverables, and also on code quality.... with a slight caveat ....
Business value isn't always equal to code quality. It *usually is* - but not always.
(Side topic - who the frick makes that decision eh ? Most times a dev makes it, they've got it wrong in my experience).
So why all the hoo-ha ? Who gives a frick if we're craftsmen or not ? Well, Uncle Bob and Dan North seem to, but I just don't get why.
As I see it, crap coders will write crap code all the time. Thats not a craft, nor is it adding business value.
Good coders will write good code, that adds business value.
Good coders, under pressure, will mostly write good code, sometimes crap code.
Great coders under pressure will write crap code - but will go and fix it asasp - and will lay awake at night, worrying about it.
Now to me suddenly, that does sound like a craft - in as much as novices do crap stuff, intermediates do much good stuff, experts write great stuff most of the time (no-one writes good stuff all the time).
There was a talk that Dan North did ages ago that talked about the transition from novice to expert - its a sociology thing ... can't remember it right now - think it was a oredev 2008/9 talk.
Good coders focus on the value to the business.
If we're good coders, then we use the principles laid out in "clean code", and other great books by luminaries in the programming world. We adhere to SOLID (unless we have a reason not to), we employ our refactoring techniques, we test our code, we drive our code from the business endpoint. We are "craftsmen" by default. But are we ? Are we not just doing *** our job ***. Surgeons don't get a pat on the back and a badge just because they did their homework on (sorry, I don't mean it) "best practice", and keep their tools clean and sharp. You know what they get ? They get "yeah - you did your job ... again. Cheers. Next please".
We're not l33t mofos that are at one with the ways of the coding ninja.
We've got a job, that some of us enjoy, and some don't.
Good companies hire good programmers.
Shit companies hire shit programmers (and good ones sometimes).
Being good at your job doesn't make you a craftsmen, it just makes you good at your job. It doesn't mean you can't take pride in your job, or mean you can't consider yourself to be expert (or journeyman, or novice or whatever). It just means we're doing a job like any other - its just that the people best at our job are the ones that are in-tune with the business, and also know how to write clean code.
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