The programmer's Creed

[theweirdn8]

What do you think of this:

The Programmer’s Creed

I believe in using programming to making the world a better place.
As technology grows I will grow.
I declare my abilities are not unmatched by other programmers.
Though an expert, I am still a novice.

I believe in the optimization of code.
I believe in constants and global variables
I believe in local and temporary variables

I believe in the ethical use of code
I will not use my code to harm or scam others.
I will not use my code to create viruses or malware.
My code will respect the human rights and dignity of others.

I believe in the open source community
When able to I will post tutorials and help beginners.

I believe in the commercial community
I will not persecute developers for making their projects commercial.

I believe in the standardization of code
I believe in using comment lines in an appropriate way
I confess there is no perfect programming language, the unity of developers and hope for a brighter future with technological advancement.


*You may use this creed on your websites, media, digital and physical print without permission. IF you do, please post in the comment section of places the creed is read and recited*

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Please note, this is simply one I made myself and I'm looking for developer feedback before creating a more finalized version...

 

[Fzero]

I guess, for developers, this is pretty good set of things to believe

 

[Caine]

It's a pretty silly creed to adhere to in my opinion (no offense intended if you feel otherwise).

I don't believe in programming, it is a technology which I use to make a living and increase my own comfort.
It is the responsibility of each individual to do so and it is not my plight to create a better place for others.
To stop learning is to stop living in my opinion, this has nothing to do with programming per se.

Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Simplicity and maintainability above performance unless it is explicitly needed.
Does declaring a believe in global/local variables limit you to using languages based on this? It is perfectly possible to program
in a language without (e.g. the lambda alone is turing complete).

To limit your ethics to use of code is a pretty low barrier. I don't give a damn about the dignity of others,
but I will initiate no violence against another human being (whether physically or digitally).

I do not see the added value of emphasizing open source and commercial communities.

Standardization of code? I can somewhat understand standardization of protocols and data formats.
Standardizing code itself seems limiting.

Programming is a means to an end not a goal by itself. If I can eliminate the need for programming, I will.

What are you trying to achieve with this creed? If you feel the need to formulate a compass for yourself then
I recommend that you focus on e.g. formulating a personal mission statement for your life.
That will aid you much more than such an overly specific creed.

 

[FBnil]

Hmm... let me try to open up a discussion...

>>I believe in using programming to making the world a better place.

All technology has been used for bad. Guided missiles on software, drone stabilizing software, counting jews in concentration camps, stealing money, etc.

For now, not even the GPL holds a clause to avoid being used for bad (you think echelon is not linux?, think again). How about making a software license for that.

Through programming automation we also can reduce costs by removing human workforce.

>>I believe in the optimization of code.

Hah! I wish I could! Usually stuff has to be done yesterday, so there is just no time. And once you do some magic voodoo and reduce the time you spend almost getting a day... well they expect to do that again next time.

>>I believe in the ethical use of code

The world doesn't work that way... I want to believe too, though.

>>I will not use my code to harm or scam others.

... but someone else might...

>>I will not use my code to create viruses or malware.

Too late. By creating programs for Windows, you make it more appealing for users to use windows. This larger userbase attracts malware. So thanks to programmers, Windows got this huge, that platform is now used by the blackhats. In a sense, you wrote a troyan, with a payload that will be defined later.

In fact, as the saying goes: guns don't kill people, people kill people. The same can be said for programs. And as such, you can not call a program good, or evil, because you can write a ransom note in Word.. does that make Word bad? or write a liberation speech, does it make that good?

 

[TrashyMG]

Well strike off a ton of that for me then.. I know for a fact I generate/write and maintain code that test semiconductors for customers like US government and subcontractors for military applications..well on top of a whole bunch of customers that have nothing to do with military applications like one customer and an ASIC for an all-in-one scanner/fax/printer.. so there is that.