Computer programmers of today are much like the
scribes of the
Middle Ages. They are the ones who know how to
write in the
language of the day. Today, the languages of choice are
Perl,
C++ and
Java among others. Not everyone is
fluent in these languages. And the few who know them are in
high demand.
The new king of the day is Corporate America. They require that everything be on the computer from accounting to product distribution. They hire and fire these new scribes at their whim always looking for someone to do their bidding for a fee.
There are even new virtual monasteries that devote themselves to the practice of the craft of programming: Open Source, GNU and Linux. Young monks spend hours contributing to these projects with no financial reward. In return, they hone their skills and their efforts are preserved for the ages and pass down from one generation to the next benefiting all of mankind.
In nearly every home, there is some device that relies on the skills of the programmer to make it do what it is suppose to do. They are the faceless that are required but quickly discarded once their task is done.
I am proud to be counted among these new scribes. My profession is honourable and fashionable.
There will come a day when all will be literate and a new era will come forth: one of logic and structure like the computer languages themselves. Another revolution in thinking will take place. People will use their brains to the fullest and tell the computer to go forth and solve the problems of the world. I only wished that I could live to be 1000 years old to see it happen but what good would a programmer be with skills 1000 years old?