Real Programmer syndrome

"Real Programmer" syndrome is the condition of intentionally refusing to use, and often even belittling, the latest software development practices and tools. Due to the rapid evolution of computer technology, new programming languages, libraries and frameworks, editing and debugging tools, version control systems, and even software development methodologies are continually being introduced to automate common tasks and make the programmer's life easier. State of the art development practices from any given year are often almost unheard of a decade later. Some programmers who "grew up" on the older systems disdain the new innovations as coddling junior programmers and making the challenges of software development seem easier than they actually are. Those who had to learn to use (and were toughened by) the older tools and limitations are the "real programmers", and those who cannot survive without the newer automated assistance are derided as imposters.[1] As a result, both the "real programmers" and the "imposters" often voluntarily work long hours with inadequate tools in an attempt to prove their worth or the superiority of their methods, damaging some programmers' health as a result of the strain.[1]

Beliefs

In 1980s "Real programmers" were believed to prefer working in low-level programming languages that offer little abstraction or insulation from the physical hardware, and to ignore structured programming practices in favor of hand-crafting their control flow.[2] These techniques can access unique hardware features and surprising performance, but are often unforgiving of the smallest mistakes.

"Real programmers" aren't supposed to make errors in their code, so primitive editors are adequate and the latest debugging tools are unnecessary. Documentation is also considered frivolous, as a "real programmer" should just read other programmers' source code or manually inspect the contents of memory if he or she wants to understand how something works. Many of these beliefs were described in the early 1980s essays "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" and "The Story of Mel," which inspired many subsequent articles,[3][4][5] webcomics[6] and in-jokes—with the exact defining features of a "Real Programmer" differing with time and place.

See also

References
  1. Julie Bort (March 2014). "The Stress Of Being A Computer Programmer Is Literally Driving Many Of Them Crazy". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  2. Eric S. Raymond, editor (July 27, 1993). "Real Programmer". The New Hacker's Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. Ian Gorton (November 1995). "Real Programmers Do Use Delphi". IEEE Software. IEEE Computer Society. 12 (6): 8–12. doi:10.1109/52.469755. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  4. Erik Brunvand (October 15, 1996). "The Heroic Hacker: Legends of the Computer Age" (PostScript). p. 4. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  5. "More About Real Programmers". Archived from the original on 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  6. REAL programmers xkcd.com
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