During my vacations last month (which is part of the reason for not posting in a long time), I went to lunch with some friends of mine. During lunch, I told them that I’d probably be spending most of my time relaxing, reading and programming. They commented that I should get out more and not always be programming.
I found this interesting, since, although I partially agreed with them (I’m writing this from a coffee shop in downtown Porto, so making improvements on the getting out part), I think the part about programming came from an association with work.
Although I do agree that programming isn’t for everyone (just like reading and skydiving aren’t for everyone), I get sad when I hear people say they don’t want a job that involves programming or talk about it as if it’s some kind of punishment.
For me, programming is a lot of fun. It’s like a puzzle or a board game where you have to think not only in the short-term (how am I going to get this working now?) but also in the long-term (how do I build this so I can easily add more things later?). It’s also something that can help you socialize in some circles.
For me though, one of the most valued things about programming is that it is something you build! When you finish some new feature on a program, you get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment: there was nothing when you started, now there is something, and you built it with your own hands.
Since this is getting a bit long, I’ll try to write another post about what I think is turning people off from programming.
To wrap it up, if you’re one of those people who has given up on programming or never learned to program and want to try it, see Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby. It is (or should be, I haven’t read it all) a fun guide to Ruby, which I think is one of the easiest programming languages to learn.
