Category Archives: Programming

Stop Writing Code

Code: n. A system of symbols, letters, or words given certain arbitrary meanings, used for transmitting messages requiring secrecy or brevity.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

This is not what we should be writing.

I started thinking that we as an industry need a new term. The reason I say this is related to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which says that the language we use influences the way we experience the world around us. If we keep referring to what we write as code, we are going to keep writing software that ‘requires secrecy or brevity’, instead of writing software intended for other people to read. Ableson and Sussman nailed it back in 1985, in the preface to the first edition of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, and I am sure they weren’t the first either.

First, we want to establish the idea that a computer language is not just a way of getting a computer to perform operations but rather that it is a novel formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology. Thus, programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Let’s take a moment and take a look at another term we use commonly.

program: Late Latin programma, public notice, from Greek programma, programmat-, from prographein, to write publicly : pro-, forth; see PRO-2 + graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

That is not bad, as it refers to writing publicly, so maybe, if we start thinking in that sense of the word, we would be okay; but odds are, it has deviated too far from that original meaning in common thought to try to rescue it and bring it back towards that original meaning. If we are going to come up with a better term, maybe we need to pick a term that expresses that we are telling the story of the system; XP talks about Metaphor of the system; and Eric Evans in Domain Driven Design talks about Ubiquitous Language; others talk about modeling the system; but the commonality is that we want what we write to expressive and suggestive. We have a word for the type of writing they describe.

poem: n. A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.
[French poème, from Old French, from Latin poēma, from Greek poiēma, from poiein, to create; see kwei-2 in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

I am not saying that we should all start writing software poetry, but as an example of a word in our lexicon that may have a better fit. I suggest we think about what words would better describe the kind of software we wish we were reading, and then, see how the words we choose change the way we write software. What if we tried writing software poetry, software novellas, or software as the literature of the system, and see how that affects the way we write our software. Do we gain expressivity? Do we encourage others to read what we have written and get editorial reviews? Do we make sure to go back and read aloud what has been written to see if we stumble upon awkward phrasing? Do we take time to go back and try to rewrite what we have just written to make sure it is written well?

I have recently started reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser, and while he is talking about the word processor, I think it relates to writing software as well, since all too often we just move on and submit our writing as soon as we think it is working.

On one level the new torrent is good news. Any invention that reduces the fear of writing is up there with air-conditioning and the lightbulb. But, as always, there’s a catch. Nobody told all the new computer writers that the essence of writing is rewriting. Just because they’re writing fluently doesn’t mean they’re writing well.
On Writing Well

–Proctor