What do Programmers really do? A few Pieces of Information for Non-programmers!

Programmers are anti-social

Through films, the media created the image of a programmer as someone who escapes from the real world into the virtual world, but the truth is that today each of us lives both in the real world and in the virtual world. This means that each of us can be a programmer and this does not require anti-social preferences.

The world created by programmers is our everyday life, because we use applications, social networking sites or websites every day, and this is only a small fraction of what programmers really do to make our lives easier.

Programmers are mathematical Jedi masters

Programmers are in a way Jedi masters because they do things that are simply unknown to ordinary people, but this is not about mathematics, but about logic.

Why is coding associated with mathematics? Because logic is a part of mathematics and, practically speaking, it is very important in code since it breaks down complex processes into straightforward steps that can be explained to the computer.

In programming, it is important to properly use the tools that the particular program offers. There is no denying that mathematical skills will always come in handy, especially when dealing with machine learning or artificial intelligence, but this is not a requirement without which you cannot start your journey in to coding world. If you think logically, can combine certain dependencies and simply want to, then nothing is impossible – the world of coding is open to people who are not afraid of undertaking some exciting challenges.

In fact, whether we are aware of it or not, maths surrounds us every step of the way and maybe it is not always visible to us, but it exists and helps us in many everyday activities.

Programmers must remember all the complicated commands of programming languages

Human memory is a huge tool. Each of us can stretch it to an extraordinary level. According to many researches, we remember the most, which is 90%, when we talk about something we have already done, and that means that it is not enough to read or hear something to know it, but you have to work with it. This is also the case with coding. Nobody expects that at the beginning of our journey with programming we will sit for months and learn the whole syntax. It’s not about programmers having to remember the magic commands in a particular programming language, which are the secret codes through which they gain magical powers.

It is no secret that each programming language has its own set of keywords to be mastered. However, it is worth remembering that these keywords are only a tool to build real programming structures, such as loops and functions. On their basis, larger patterns are created, which make up even bigger components of a complex application or program.

All this is closely connected with each other and it is worth knowing the place of particular components, however, the commands themselves are best learned by working with them and it does not have to be all at once.

sticky notes

Programmers are like machines

This statement probably refers to the fact that programmers seem to be very technical, but people forget that a huge dose of creativity is also needed to create codes.

Sometimes the work of a programmer is like the work of an artist, they have to match many elements to form a whole, but before they start, they must imagine everything in their heads. People working in the IT industry are generally extremely ingenious people who very often think outside the box and create something that amazes the world.

In this job, empathy is also important, as the programmer should be able to understand the expectations of customers and meet them at the highest level, and this is not always easy. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that not every programmer can write code for everything. There are different areas in which people are specialised, so you can’t call them machines because each of them is different and special in their own unique way.

Programmers only need to write code on the keyboard quickly

What makes you think that a programmer has to write on the computer keyboard quickly? You’ve probably seen it more than once in some TV shows, cartoons or movies and it’s quite far from what a programmers really do. It’s not about being able to type quickly on the keyboard. In fact, it’s not even about typing code because it’s not the only thing that takes up all our work.

The work of a programmer is based on many tasks and coding is only one of them, and interestingly, not even the most crucial one.

Like every product, everything starts with an idea and how the specific elements supposed to look like. That’s why it’s crucial to plan and introduce the concept into a clear process which will then create a logical element of the code. Subsequently, the code is created but it has to be constantly tested for gaps and errors. All codes must be checked for their functionality. It even happens that during testing the code does not meet the customer’s expectations and the whole process from planning has to start anew. So all that is in the middle, i.e., the coding itself, is only a fraction of all the work that a programmer has to put in to create something coherent, for example, an application.

So professional and experienced programmers invest much more time and energy in all the activities that support and help to implement their code. Planning and testing play a huge role here.

Programmers do the same thing all over again

Many people think that programming is generally boring and focuses on doing the same things all the time or typing the same learned commands. Oh, what a misconception! Any job can be boring if you have no ambition or if you don’t want to flourish. The work of a programmer is a continuous development, constant learning and a huge amount of possibilities. If you don’t want to create websites, you can create applications, if you are not interested in applications, you can work with artificial intelligence or with databases. There are many possibilities and what is even more interesting, each of them gives a chance to do something that others can only dream of.

The job of a programmer is that kind of work in which they pay you to solve problems and create something unique. The IT industry is growing so fast that everyone has the opportunity to find something for themselves. The most inspiring thing about it is that thanks to the work of programmers the world is changing in a certain sense and we start to experience it differently. This is an extremely fascinating job and there is nothing boring about it, believe us!

 

We hope that after reading this article you will look at the work of a programmer a little differently and see the beauty of the modern world in it. Remember that if it wasn’t for the work of a programmer, you wouldn’t be able to open this page and read this article, so it’s not worth listening to clichés but to get to know this world from the inside and on your own terms. Learn more about our programming courses and join the fantastic IT world today!