Programming isn't easy


Programming isn't easy. But, it's getting easier.

Innovations that made shipping software easier:

1890: Punch cards
1945: High-level languages
1958: Strong Types
1959: Managed memory
1961: Spell check
1967: Object-oriented programming
1971: Open source
1972: Automatic code formatting
1973: Graphical User Interface
1974: WYSIWYG editors
1976: BBS
1977: Source control
1979: Containerization
1983: Internet (ARPANET switches to TCP/IP)
1985: Code completion
1988: Internet Relay Chat
1989: World wide web
1991: Automated testing
1994: Package managers
1998: Software as a service
2002: Cloud computing
2008: Stackoverflow
2018: Large Language Models

Some of these innovations made people wonder "will programming become so easy that anyone can do it?"

After over 100 years, it hasn't happened yet.

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