!Code, ?Code, Not Code

What are the most important skills acquired from software development? What is the core of the profession?

Well, I’ll tell you what it isn't…code.

It's not about the code, it's never about the code, it's never been about the code.

Code does not wow developers, the solutions that it is a part of does.

Development is the process of finding those solutions. It's about gaining insight into how complex systems work. How to pick apart and inquire about their problems. Knowing what to use and when through different design philosophies. Learning structures that work well with different patterns and knowing how these things play together at larger scale. It is learning to stop and think through ideas computationally, which is not something people naturally do. You have to hone these skills over years which requires extreme patience and a high tolerance for failure.

Beginners think it is all about the code. 

Business folk think it's all about the code.

Non-Technical people think it's all about the code. 

Developers are not paid to write code, they are paid to generate solutions. So to provide developers with solutions from the get-go is to underutilize the skill they bring. This happens more often when people haven't been through the process, instead seeing development as "glorified typing" producing a UI declaring that as the final result.

It may feel like not knowing a programming language is the main barrier to building that next great app idea. Truth is you can learn any programming language front to back and still not be able to build a damn thing. Knowing "how to code" is learning a tool, a first step on a long journey. The good developers aren't defined by collecting tools but instead by the solutions they've provided.

We could talk for hours about software development without ever mentioning a specific language or the syntax involved. However for all these things, the requirements for positions or assumed value of a developer boils down to "language trading cards"....and I can't roll my eyes any harder.

Seeking Carpenter for position: must have experience with the following

• Framing hammer
• Claw hammer
• Sledge hammer
• Worked with White Oak Framework

Anyway, I'm beating a dead horse by now, but I tell you that horse had it coming. Hopefully there was something to glean from this thought turned run-away-rant. I don't do these often (articles no, rants yes).