Programming: Art or Science?

[Adron]

I thought we were talking about the proccess of programming, not the final program.

The ability to compare/grade programs absolutely (by efficiency / speed) came up as an argument against programming being an art. I tried to show that there are other qualities to programs, qualities that you'll rate according to taste, in a similar fashion to other works of art.

[Grok]

I thought we were talking about the proccess of programming, not the final program.

The ability to compare/grade programs absolutely (by efficiency / speed) came up as an argument against programming being an art. I tried to show that there are other qualities to programs, qualities that you'll rate according to taste, in a similar fashion to other works of art.

Oh, well if we're going to switch to the design elements of visual interface, then yes, I believe that to be as artistic as it is functional.  You clearly mentioned earlier that in the discussion of programming we were defining it as the coding phase.

[Adron]

Oh, well if we're going to switch to the design elements of visual interface, then yes, I believe that to be as artistic as it is functional.  You clearly mentioned earlier that in the discussion of programming we were defining it as the coding phase.

It's the coding phase where are choices being made. Coding as in just translating the representation, say if you're implementing a strictly defined algorithm, or if you've written the application in pseudocode already, is just mechanical work.

But yes, you're right that the main difference between bots probably is just the graphical lull-lull. And that's done by drawing boxes on a form, not by actual programming.

People don't know to appreciate the real art, like Skywing's memory-modifying, api hi-jacking masterpieces.

[Mephisto]

I disagree.  I believe that the design of your program is art.  You're designing how it will work, what it will do, how you will deploy it, upgrade it, etc.  The coding part of the highly vague definition of "programming" is science.  You are following certain procedures, rules, implementing specific algorithms, etc.  This pertains to science and not art I believe.  However, the pre-coding phase which I believe is art could also be science, in that you are taking certain steps in your design and how you will actual code the program.  But the art factor is still there in that you are visualizing your program and designing it how you want to by definition of art.

[Maddox]

Art is used to express emotions, convey a feeling or tell a story. Programming does none of these. If you are feeling sad, you cannot realistically write a program that expresses sadness.

Programming is there to provide an abstract layer for people to design applications meant to carry out tasks for business or entertainment. Perhaps games are the closest things to art as far as programs go because they involve characters and stories.

[Adron]

Art is used to express emotions, convey a feeling or tell a story.

I don't think that list is exhaustive. Art can be purely decorative too. Since it's not an exhaustive list, I don't think you can use it to say that programming isn't art. Art can be used for those things, or other things. Art doesn't *have* to express emotions.

Programming is having an idea and putting that down in a tangible form. Not all programming is art, just like not all drawing is art. If your program is too well specified before you code it up, it's not art, just like creating ruled paper isn't art. Just mechanical work.

[Maddox]

Art is used to express emotions, convey a feeling or tell a story.

I don't think that list is exhaustive. Art can be purely decorative too. Since it's not an exhaustive list, I don't think you can use it to say that programming isn't art. Art can be used for those things, or other things. Art doesn't *have* to express emotions.

Programming is having an idea and putting that down in a tangible form. Not all programming is art, just like not all drawing is art. If your program is too well specified before you code it up, it's not art, just like creating ruled paper isn't art. Just mechanical work.

So basically if your program is planned, that makes it not art? All programs are mechanical work, that is my point. They are the equivalent to solving a tough math problem.

[Adron]

So basically if your program is planned, that makes it not art? All programs are mechanical work, that is my point. They are the equivalent to solving a tough math problem.

I'm talking about how much is going into the program. There's nothing black or white there. Hmm. Hard to define. Might want to look at copyright law, I think that has something to require a certain amount of creativity for a work to have protection. It's something like that I'm after - if this is an original creative work, or if it's just a translation of an algorithm, or of an exact specification.

And in my experience, a lot of programs aren't mechanical work. Some are, yes, but those I hate to write anyway