The Static Ideal

In Jon Erickson's recent interview with Mike Laginski of Clockwork, Mike raises the very real, and in my mind somewhat troubling fact that programmers are increasingly expected to practice, as he puts it, "a science, not an art form." I don't dispute this, and frankly, under that pressure, static analysis tools can be a huge help in nailing down defects early. At least, it certainly feels like you're practicing more science than art when you are doing automatic testing against some hard-and-fast rules early in the development cycle. And I'm all for taking as scientific an approach as possible. I suppose the question is this: "where are the limits of the scientific approach in software development?" I mean, we are, ultimately, talking about an act of creation. It's the "artful" nature of programming that drives managers and business types nuts, because it's precisely this intangible monster that forces delays and cost overruns. But it can't be factored out.

Posted by Kevin Carlson at 02:42 PM  Permalink