Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:40, 14 November 2011

Revision as of 17:54, 14 November 2011

Line 1:

"'''Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal'''"<ref> The title is a parody of the bestselling 1982 tongue-in-cheek book on stereotypes about masculinity ''[[Real Men Don't Eat Quiche]]''</ref> is an essay about [[computer programming]] written by Ed Post of [[Tektronix, Inc.]], and published in July 1983 as a [[letter to the editor]] in ''[[Datamation]]''.<ref>Volume 29 number 7</ref> The title is a parody of the bestselling tongue-in-cheek book on stereotypes about masculinity ''[[Real Men Don't Eat Quiche]]''.

The article was widelyWidely circulated on [[Usenet]] in its day, and was well-known in the computer software industry.<ref> {{cite article

| url = http://www.th-soft.com/zzJargon/R.htm#Real_Programmer

| title = Real Programmer

Line 8:

| author = Eric S. Raymond, editor

| accessdate = 2008-03-28

The}} </ref> the article compares and contrasts ''real programmers'', who use punch cards and write programs in [[FORTRAN]] or [[assembly language]], with modern-day "quiche eaters" who use programming languages such as [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] which support [[structured programming]] and impose restrictions meant to prevent or minimize common [[software bug|bug]]s due to inadvertent programming logic errors. Also mentioned are feats such as the inventor of the [[Cray-1]] supercomputer toggling in<ref> ''Toggling in'' refers to setting an array of [[toggle switch]]es or rocker switches which supplement program memory </ref> the first operating system for the [[CDC 7600]] through the front panel without notes when it was first powered on.

}} </ref> Many subsequent documents pay homage or mimic its subject.<ref> {{cite journal

The next year [[Ed Nather]]’s "The realest programmer of all"<ref name=usenet-1984-11-20>Matt Crawford [http://groups.google.com/group/net.jokes/browse_thread/thread/936255290cc94a96 The realest programmer of all] Newsgroup: net.jokes November 20, 1984.</ref> [[USENET]] posting extended the theme, as have many subsequent articles,<ref> {{cite journal

| url = http://csdl2.computer.org/persagen/DLAbsToc.jsp?resourcePath=/dl/mags/so/&toc=comp/mags/so/1995/06/s6toc.xml&DOI=10.1109/52.469755

| author = Ian Gorton

Line 32 ⟶ 34:

| title = More About Real Programmers

| accessdate = 2008-03-28

Many}} subsequent articles,</ref> cartoons<ref>[http://xkcd.com/378/ REAL programmers] xkcd.com</ref> and in-jokes extend the joke, &mdash;with the alleged defining features of a "Real Programmer" differing with time and place, in the fashion of the "[[no true Scotsman]]" fallacy.

}} </ref>

The article compares and contrasts ''real programmers'', who use punch cards and write programs in [[FORTRAN]] or [[assembly language]], with modern-day "quiche eaters" who use programming languages such as [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] which support [[structured programming]] and impose restrictions meant to prevent or minimize common [[software bug|bug]]s due to inadvertent programming logic errors. Also mentioned are feats such as the inventor of the [[Cray-1]] supercomputer toggling in<ref> ''Toggling in'' refers to setting an array of [[toggle switch]]es or rocker switches which supplement program memory </ref> the first operating system for the [[CDC 7600]] through the front panel without notes when it was first powered on.

Many subsequent articles, cartoons<ref>[http://xkcd.com/378/ REAL programmers] xkcd.com</ref> and in-jokes extend the joke, with the alleged defining features of a "Real Programmer" differing with time and place, in the fashion of the "[[no true Scotsman]]" fallacy.

==See also==