Everyone would code if everyone could. As software eats the world we presume its proper to teach everyone to program. Even as a teacher, its ok to encourage and assist people on their coding journey, but don’t expect a coding society.

Decisions, decisions

Currently, fourth-generation programming languages create software. They are steeped in rich imperfect histories tethering them to certain devices, creating unnatural programming rituals, and invoking prayers to compatibility gods. If you must code, you must accept being overwhelmed with how to code. Understanding evolving techniques, capabilities, and libraries will require focus and genuine interest.

The language-tool divide

As software evolves, software production will, and you should to maintain your value as a developer. Prepare to throw away all you’ve learned to redo it the right way.

Programming languages compare to their spoken brethren, but spoken languages communicate, where programming languages create. What coding means will evolve at the eat of unimagined hardware, libraries, and concepts. We rejoice at dodging the pain of assembly programers of yesteryear, but future generations will be shocked by how byzantine coding can get. A developer’s worth is not in an intrinsic, unspoken magic. It reflects high demand for skilled, willing builders versus the low supply of people who can build with clunky tools. Over time, the language/tool divide will dissipate. Means to create are destined to simplify and expand in ways unimagined.

Something will need to be sacrificed

Programming takes time and is hard to “set it and forget it”. Top performers invest countless hours to maintain and refine their skills. Would a great sculptor find any benefit in learning to code? Inspiration is found anywhere. But if that sculptor spends half the sculpting time learning to code, don’t expect much improvement in whichever primary craft. Always be open to learn, schedule it between your algebra and woodshop classes. But recognized time as finite, and the power to code has its costs.

Quality Control

Bad code exists. Pushing everyone to code, leads to a lot more bad code, and bad code is bad. Getting everyone to spit out code depreciates its beauty. Til we cross the language-tool divide, good code comes from experience, and a willingness to invest time, make mistakes, and suffer to understand why its good. Code is structured expressionism, acting as if it was dead, yet full of life. Code lives on through refactoring, or dies branded as legacy. Code is constantly torn up and put back together. Rather than lead the way for more orphaned and abandoned code, let’s push for more quality code, from quality people who want to put in the quality time towards creating something.

Got to learn something though

Discouraging learning is not fun. But you can ascend the digital world through many skills. Coding is one way, but calling can come from asking the right questions.

Do you “need to code” or do you “need to build X”?
Plan, then build. You’ll gravitate towards the best way of building X. Plans, sketches, and yes...code. There is a process for software development. Get a grasp of how software gets created and see where you fit in best.

Why can’t you use this framework or platform?
Create what you want with SquareSpace or Wordpress. Shame doesn’t matter as long as people’s needs are met. Platforms mean limits, but for that’s irrelevant for smaller projects with predictable needs. And those platforms can be a gateway into modifying an existing codebase, or adding your own.

Do you want to tinker with past code or methods to be a better programmer?
Coding is humbling if anything. The computer is wrong til you stumble upon the obvious mistake you made. On top of that, you can count on code to have the need to be more secure, have better performance and/or maintainability, and change to whims of third parties. It helps to be prepared and adept not only in the art of creating new code but going through the pain of maintaining old code. Old code that you can’t believe you wrote.

Would you enjoy doing and evolving in this?
It doesn’t have to be orgasmically fun and it doesn’t have to be your passion, But do you enjoy sitting across a computer screen with music blasting while you code? Ask yourself about the feelings you get after spending hours unlocking a coding puzzle. Both the good and the bad ones.

How will you feel knowing that the language you spent conquering will lose value or evolve beyond comprehension in less than a generation?
The times will change and you will have to look at what you made, and all the plans and tricks you used to make it. Assess how you will look at the contributions you made towards creating awesome software. Learning is notching another skill, it's understanding how you applied that knowledge to satisfy people’s needs.

Are you less of a person if you can’t code?
How do you value yourself. Coding isn’t easy or hard that thing you get or don’t get. But creating in age requires more than code. No one is lesser for being unable to code. Other valuable people with those same inabilities exist. Luckily value is never determined by what you're unable to do.