10. Programming as theory-building

The building of the program is the same as the building of the theory of it by and in the team of programmers. During the program life a programmer team possessing its theory remains in active control of the program, and in particular retains control over all modifications. The death of a program happens when the programmer team possessing its theory is dissolved. A dead program may continue to be used for execution in a computer and to produce useful results. The actual state of death becomes visible when demands for modifications of the program cannot be intelligently answered. Revival of a program is the rebuilding of its theory by a new programmer team. (Naur, 1985)

Programming as Theory Building (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

Software is a temporary garden whose fate is inextricably intertwined with its gardeners. Beyond that, software is a theory. It’s a theory about a particular solution to a problem. Like the proverbial garden, it is composed of a microscopic ecosystem of artefacts, each of whom has to be treated like a living thing. The gardener develops a sense of how the parts connect and affect each other, what makes them thrive, what kills them off, and how you prompt them to grow. The software project and its programmers are an indivisible and organic entity that our industry treats like a toy model made of easily replaceable lego blocks. They believe a software project and its developers can be broken apart and reassembled without dying.