I wonder to what extent there would be interest in a "programming for non-programmers" short course (maybe ½ day – 1 day); an introduction to programming that's not principally aimed as the first step on a longer road, but rather as a fully rounded course of "general knowledge" on the topic of programming.
- Computers are all around us now. Having at least a general idea of what programming does and how it's done is probably a good idea, even if one never programs, in order to understand how the computers around us work and what are likely to be their strengths and weaknesses.
- I'm not a civil engineer, but I can put a plank of wood across a ditch. I have some idea of the limitations of this approach. A similar level of competence (and knowledge of its limits) in programming would probably be useful for most people.
- On the occasion when one does need something more than the equivalent of a plank of wood across a ditch, having general knowledge about programming will make talking with the programming team a lot more productive (not to mention less frustrating).
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27 April 2011, 12:42 UTCcomment by brodie
I would go. I manage an IT team of 8 personnel, so being able to talk them about what is going on is essential. Because of this I have taught myself a lot about programming, and I make sure that I am constantly playing with new software and languages.
I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the basics you are talking about, but it would still be nice to get a class like this to see what a programmer thinks the basics are.
Too bad that it would be held in another country.
6 May 2011, 1:56 UTCcomment by Paul Harrison
I can put a plank of wood across a ditch, but I don't think that would help much if I were to try to manage a large engineering project. A bridge is, like, just a really big plank, right? You should try my favourite brand of planks, they're really awesome.
There are some people I work with who a definitely much better at collaborating with programmers, but ability to program is not a good indicator of this.
6 May 2011, 4:18 UTCcomment by sabik
@Paul, yeah, those three goals are somewhat orthogonal. They would benefit from being in the same course — some concepts are common across two or all three of them — but principally they are three separate goals.
Even so, being able to put a plank of wood across a ditch would probably help you specify a bridge, because you'd be aware of the general concept. Perhaps I should re-phrase that third goal to make it more clear...
