Warren Harrison writes in the recent IEEE Software magazine about the dangers of end user programming. I will admit the dangers he describes are real.
However I am surprised, shocked really, at his prescription.
Rather than assuming the blame for himself and other computer professionals, rather than taking these dangers as impetus to improve the state of the industry, rather than recognizing the natural and unstoppable demand for end user programming, Harrison would simply ban end user programming. "Dabblers" he calls them. "It’s simply unfathomable..." he writes, that these dabblers can program securely.
Unfathomable indeed.
Warren, the roots of the problem do not lay with the "dabblers". The root cause is the poor state of tools and languages professionals like you and I have given them. Recognize that *we* are the ones who can and must do better. End user programming is to be encouraged. We have the ability and responsibility to make them safe and productive, and we will have failed completely if we do not.
No comments:
Post a Comment