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design vs. construction (Score:1)
My personal favorite high-level comparison (which I first heard discussed in depth by Neal Ford [nealford.com]) contrasts programming to civil engineering.
In civil engineering (e.g. bridge building), construction costs dramatically outweigh design costs. Civil engineers aren't cheap, but their proportional cost relative to the bridge materials and construction labor are small.
In contrast, the construction steps in software are largely automated: compilation, packaging, making installers, downloading, installing. Your pr
Re:design vs. construction (Score:1)
Architecture is also a craft though. It doesn't matter how pretty anyone considers the Portland Building [wikipedia.org] or the Stata Center [wikipedia.org] if the buildings don't actually work.
Compare that to The Rite of Spring [wikipedia.org], which I don't like, but few would claim it doesn't meet the definition of art due to any functional flaws (and what are those anyway, dissonant bassoons?). De gustibus non est disputandum, tamen de laboratum est disputandum. (You can judge Latin on its functional properties, especially when I use it.)
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