What programming is like
by Dave Winer Saturday, June 18, 2016

This is a picture of a Cat's Cradle. 

It's an arrangement of string that makes something real out of something virtual. It's a complex arrangement. It makes my mind hurt, a little. It requires physical dexterity and practice. It's hard to explain in words.

When people say that programming is "coding" it sounds (to me) like turning language into Morse Code. Translate something literate into something transmittable. 

It's really the software machines we create that do the coding. I teach a computer how to encode your writing so that other people can read it on their computers. So I'm creating a machine that does the coding. 

This may be a misunderstanding between us and our users. They don't see the role that human beings play in creating the tools that do the coding. I get this from users all the time, going back to when I was starting programming. The fact that people don't understand doesn't make it any easier however! :-)