I think this is a very interesting discussion. Firstly because it's
great fun to try and debate the fragility of language when trying to
convey complex ideas using, well, language :-)
The second very interesting thing is that - and I could well be wrong
- but haven't we had this debate before? And I'm going back much, much
further than "software craftsmanship".
I am a software craftsman. In the sense that I understand it. I'm
fastidious about the code that I put my name too. I've spent a couple
of decades trying new ideas and technqiues, reading hundreds of books
on software development, reaching out to other programmers who seem to
share my passion (and a few who don't) and generally being a pain in
the backside in the way only us software craftsmen can :-)
I really, really love it when someone I'm working with or who visits
my web site gets the bug, and even more delighted when they pass their
newfound enthusiasm to other programmers. It feels great. I bet that's
how Simon Cowell feels most days. Only with less money, alas.
And it's great to have a buzzword that makes it easier for me to
identify other people who might share my passion. And there's been a
succession of such buzzwords. But they serve a similar function to
social networking sites. One year all my friends are on Friends
Reunited, the next Facebook, and Twitter the next. And, just like
social networks, it doesn't take long before the "Internet Marketers",
"Social Media Gurus" and "Entrepreneurs" move in and take over,
effectively lowering the tone of the neighbourhood. So the smart,
passionate, interesting people who aren't selling anything move on to
a new buzzword, leaving the marketeers and success coaches to feed off
the hoardes of late adopters who don't seem to care that they're
living on the equivalent of the Costa Del Sol. I don't really know
where I'm going with this analogy...
Anyhoo, I think what I'm trying to say is that what makes "Software
Craftsmanship" is the lovely neighbourhood with relatively unspoilt
views and delightful rustic local charm. When the Scrum Meisters and
Kanbangers move in in force (and they will if they smell an untapped
market) I'll be packing my suitcase and checking the atlas for the
next undiscovered code quality haven. Or something ;-)
In the meantime, what I actually do on a day-to-day basis is what
really matters. And I'm very interested to see what other craftsmen do
because I invariably learn something new. Basically, you show me yours
and I'll show you mine.
In that respect, these discussions are just smalltalk ;-)
Jason Gorman
http://www.codemanship.com