A pal was recently complaining to me about how people trivialize the work that goes into “learning how to code.” Basically, he was noob-ranting. Unlike him, I think learning to code is different from learning how to be a programmer. I see “coding” and assume the lack of theory, kind of like how “typing” has nothing to do with vocabulary and, proper, comma, us,a,ge.,,,,,,
Learning to code is now sexy – even to “regular people” – and I think this is awesome. I think everyone should learn how to code, just like everyone who studied English probably wants folks to know how to read and write well, or designers who think we should all know what fonts and color schemes to stay away from. Yes, that statement was partially tongue-in-cheek, but I do think that any exposure that Computer Science can get is a good thing. If more people try to learn to code and end up becoming passionate enough about it to change careers or majors and pursue fields in or related to software engineering, then fantastic!
Really, though, coding is not this ~*mystical voodoo*~ that emanates from us wizarding developers’ fingers, like animal-balloon-making or baking. It’s a skill; if you want to do it, learn it. It’s certainly not easy, but it can be extremely fun and rewarding. Like hitting piñatas at a birthday party.
Yeah, just like piñatas.
My name is 
I guess that makes me crazy sexy.
I’m always a bit confused when I see a programmer snapping at newbies… and anoyed. Speaking from experience: in art, hobbyists and pros coexist almost perfectly. Good example is deviantART – most of the members are drawing for fun, some of them are making a little money on side, some of them do art for a living. And of course, there is the huge sphere of “high art” with it’s own world and rules. Yes, there is some animosity and ridicule, and it has it’s own set of conflicts… but nothing like the “Script Kiddies vs. Us REAL Programmers” war.
I understand it’s mostly rooted in fear of loosing exclusivity = loosing work = loosing money. But frankly, that’s a load of… I think the programming/dev community needs to get a grip and grasp the concept of “hobby coder” finally.
But I am ranting… Obviously, I consider myself hobby coder – I love to make “things that do things”., and maybe want to learn enough to help me in my line of work (I study graphic design). I can’t get why some people go “OMG HEATHEN BUUUUURN” when they see someone like me say “oh, I do WordPress templates, but I make a plugin now and then, too”.