When is a person a programmer?

[GooS]

Well the title tells it all:

When is a person a programmer?

Your thoughts and input, I'd like to hear what others think!

My opinion: A person is a programmer when he/she can create an application which serves a purpose that can be useful for her/him and others.

//==GooS

 

[Slapshot136]

when you can turn your will into functional computer code with the assistance of caffeine

or when you start ending up 1 short compared to everyone else when counting

whichever comes first (im kidding here, but GooS already has the "normal" answer)

 

[UndeadDragon]

I believe a person should be considered a programmer when they can create an application with little or no help from others.

 

[Weegee]

I believe a person should be considered a programmer when they can create an application with little or no help from others.

That'd be a professional programmer, imo.

A normal one would require help every now and then

And a newbie programmer would require help often

 

[Xienoph]

What real programmers do

 

[KillerChi]

One who programs.
Anyone who can at least make a simple program with out needing help.

 

[Tru_Power22]

What real programmers do

Not applicable here.

I say, once you can make something functional, then you can consider yourself a programmer.

or when you start ending up 1 short compared to everyone else when counting

LOL'd hard.

 

[ReVolver]

Well I got a job making sites and online applications that submit and retrieve information using php and mysql. I guess that makes me a Programmer?

 

[ZugZugZealot]

Setting an alarm clock.

Titles mean nothing, results mean everything.

 

[quraji]

or when you start ending up 1 short compared to everyone else when counting

Epic lols. QFT

 

[Ghan]

"Q: When is a person a programmer?
A: When he doesn't ask TH for programming help..."

-AceHart

 

[Xorifelse]

Well I got a job making sites and online applications that submit and retrieve information using php and mysql. I guess that makes me a Programmer?

That would make you a scripter or webdesigner, in my opinion. A programmer programs in high level languages. It doesn't have to be useful or not.

"Q: When is a person a programmer?
A: When he doesn't ask TH for programming help..."

-AceHart

Every programmer needs help, so that is kinda a wrong thing to say that you can't post around on TH for questions. With a scripting language, there is a limit of what you can do. In a high level language, there is not.


On a second note, a programmer must fully understand the flow of the code, scopes, functions, everything before he can call him\her self a programmer.

 

[codemonkey]

Every programmer needs help, so that is kinda a wrong thing to say that you can't post around on TH for questions. With a scripting language, there is a limit of what you can do. In a high level language, there is not.


On a second note, a programmer must fully understand the flow of the code, scopes, functions, everything before he can call him\her self a programmer.

You contradicted yourself.

 

[Xorifelse]

You contradicted yourself.

Depends on your point of view

> A programmer programs in high level languages. It doesn't have to be useful or not.

On a second note, a programmer "who writes his code in a high level language which is stated above" must fully understand the flow of the code, scopes, functions, everything before he can call him\her self a "real" programmer.


However, I do see what you mean. Just forgot adding the "real" towards it.
Everybody can mess around in Visual Studio, and make yourself a program. But that doesn't make you a real one.
If you understand everything, than it's just a simple matter of syntax experience.
But having that, doesn't have to make you a programmer nonetheless, it's the basics before that.


For example, if I fully understood c++ and I'm beginning to learn a new language such as Python, does my title of programmer just vanish?
So by my definition of the word programmer, is someone who understands the flow of the code and is able to interact with that.

 

[Slapshot136]

> A programmer programs in high level languages.

I would consider a person who programs in jass as more of a programmer then someone who programs in GUI, if they created a program that does the same thing - high level = highly abstracted and inefficient, think of like a game-making program that already does 99% of the things for you

edit: just felt like using wc3 examples, your right it's not quite the best example, I thought just leaving what i quoted at that would be misleading

low-level is what more advanced/experienced programmers work on

 

[Xorifelse]

> I would consider a person who programs in jass as more of a programmer then someone who programs in GUI ( Mean trigger editor? Everybody programs in a GUI these days, I believe )

Wrong, Jass is not a programming language, it is a scripting language. It would make him a scripter, not a programmer.
A high level language, is a syntax that can be converted by a compiler to a lower level language, such as Assembly or binary. This is programming 1 : 1.

> think of like a game-making program that already does 99% of the things for you

Right, Using a tool such as game maker, is merely a cover ( like the trigger editor ) with a lot of pre-programed routines, making it easier to create a game. Such as Visual Studio makes it easier to build GUI applications. But knowing how to operate such tools doesn't make you a programmer, as I said before.

> low-level is what more advanced/experienced programmers work on

I was hopefully clear what I meant with high\low level programming , because that is just wrong!

 

[TheDamien]

Scripting languages are programming languages, and programming in a high-level language is not a necessary characteristic of a programmer. C is nowadays considered a low-level language, but that does not mean that someone who programs exclusively in C is not a programmer.

 

[Tru_Power22]

Scripting languages are programming languages, and programming in a high-level language is not a necessary characteristic of a programmer. C is nowadays considered a low-level language, but that does not mean that someone who programs exclusively in C is not a programmer.

Actually I think C is more of a middle level language.

 

[Xorifelse]

> Scripting languages are programming languages
I'm hoping that you just haven't wiki'ed that, because that is metaphorically speaking. Or are you claiming that JavaScript, Jass or even a spreadsheet formula is a programming language? Because, most certainly they are not.

> programming in a high-level language is not a necessary characteristic of a programmer
Sure, programming assembly is quite common in C\C++. Especially if you're creating hacks for games. Perhaps I was a little hasty saying that programmers program only in high level languages, but as I later stated that lower level languages is programming 1 : 1, the basics of everything in "programming".

> C is nowadays considered a low-level language
I'm sorry, I totally and I mean TOTALLY disagree in that statement. If it was a lower level language, you either program in assembly or binary. Pick your choice, and you will see that this is a high level language.

> Actually I think C is more of a middle level language.
I have little to no experience with C, but I do know that middle level languages do not exist. Since it is most certainly not a lower level language, conciser it a high level language, rather people like it or not.
Or just go ahead and create this wiki and perhaps they will accept it

Edit:
I just read some things about C, and just because it has easy access to memory doesn't make it a low level language, c++ has this access to, in fact you can execute direct ASM code in there and c++ is clearly known as a high level language. So why on earth the confusion that C is a low level language?

 

[TheDamien]

JavaScript and Jass are both programming languages. Scripting languages are programming languages by definition. There is really no room to move on this. It's like saying that apples are not a fruit.

The terms "high-level" and "low-level" denote differing levels of abstraction from the basic workings of the computer. The standard against which these things are judged is not absolute. C might have been considered high-level 30 years ago, but it can certainly be considered low-level by today's standards.

EDIT:

I just read some things about C, and just because it has easy access to memory doesn't make it a low level language, c++ has this access to, in fact you can execute direct ASM code in there and c++ is clearly known as a high level language. So why on earth the confusion that C is a low level language?

C++ is not clearly known as a high-level language. It has high-level features (e.g. dynamic dispatch, templates) but retains most of the low-level characteristics of C. That is why the poster above refers to it as a "medium level" language.

Edit2: He actually said C, my bad. C++ is commonly known as a mid-level language though. C can barely be classified as such due to the absence of high-level features, however.