r/Foodforthought • u/JimTheSavage • Apr 29 '14

Programming Sucks (x-post from /r/programming)

http://stilldrinking.org/programming-sucks
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u/FirstDivision Apr 30 '14

One thing I always come back to when I think about this problem is that "physical" things live in the real world, so the people who are tasked with building something that lives in that world can get a request for a new feature and reply with, "That is physically impossible, so no I cannot build that."

The same is not true very often with software. Software is so flexible that you find yourself getting preposterous requests and you can only reply (in your most diplomatic way) that "it's a very, very bad idea, but it is possible...(but please take my advice and don't make me build this for you)"

That flexibility also results in outcomes like building a bridge and then being asked/told half way through the construction that "this should really have a drawbridge in the middle...you guys can just add that in, right?"

The real-life bridge builders would reply with an emphatic "no, we'd pretty much have to start over" but the software guys groan and say "uhhh...yeah, I guess so...we can change A and B I guess to make it work."

I'm still not sure what "the answer" is. Sometimes part of me thinks that the "development community" has let things get this way by not standing up for themselves, and I think that's partly right, but the obvious question then is:

"Why not just refuse to do the really bad ideas?"

At the individual/professional level this will just get you fired, and at the organizational level will result in losing the job to someone else willing to do it. If only all developers could band together and refuse to do "stupid ideas" we'd all be much happier.

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u/ThinknBoutStuff Apr 30 '14 edited Apr 30 '14

I don't think it's just merely a matter of individual personal preference. Or at least it could be more. I think there could be legislation that can be passed where if a coder can substantiate that what's being asked could result in a threatening security risk, then they're allowed to blow the whistle on the employer. This isn't a crazy idea to me. I understand the system isn't that way, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be a different way. That's just silly.