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Home > Archive > Programming Forum > July 2004 > Can software replace a programmer?
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Can software replace a programmer?
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| Rex_tacy 2004-06-07, 11:08 pm |
| Tomshardware had an article on a new program that lets people with no programming experience program with this application. I still find it hard to believe that this program will totally replace programmers especially advanced data types. Also there have been numerous programs that do the same thing including ones that do basic game programs with no experience. Here is the aritcle.
Chicago (IL) - Care Technologies recently introduced a software which claims to accelerate application development up to 47x and might even be able to replace software developers at some point. To prove its capability, the firm invites firms to a workshop and have a specific application developed within 48 hours.
"Computers can now program themselves," Spain-based Care Technologies says in its press release and describes its invention as first fully automatic programming machine. In fact, the concept of OlivaNova, the name of the application, almost seems scary: Using simple application requirements, developers no longer write code but rather define a model and relations between different and have the software write the program "with the push of a button."
According to Care, OlivaNova is capable to write applications for Windows NT/2000/2003, "most" Unix and Linuz environments in Visual Basic 6, Java/EJB, JSP, Cold Fusion and .NET. Examples of created applications are warehouse management systems, utilities management and billing systems, and a golf club management system. Care believes, that OlivaNova can increase the development speed of new applications at least by a factor 12 and depending on environment and requirement up to 47x - figures, which are based on a benchmark used by market research firm Gartner.
Besides speed, another advantage can be a decrease in programming mistakes. OlivaNova produces in average only seven percent of the mistakes of a typical programmer, the company said.
The company invites firms which are interested, but not convinced of OlivaNova's features to a two day workshop in Munich, Germany. Companies can submit their requirements to Care and leave the workshop with a working prototype of their application. "In ten years we will laugh about the fact that we still had to write code at the beginning of the 21st century. It is about time to automate the software industry," says Oscar Pastor, who developed the "programming machine". | |
| azimuth40 2004-06-08, 1:43 am |
| I can't say it won't but what I will say is the first time I heard one would was in 1973. I'm still waiting.  | |
| bsdboy 2004-06-10, 12:31 pm |
| Wont happen. VB6 was closest thing to easy programmings. | |
| FallingStar 2004-07-07, 3:43 pm |
| Typical marketing BS. Plenty of confusion of terms. For example :
"Using simple application requirements, developers no longer write code but rather define a model and relations between different and have the software write the program 'with the push of a button' "
What is a program if not a model? What is OO code if not a defined relationships between objects. In C++ we define relationships between objects and 'at the push of a button' the compiler creates the code. My point is that it is the very identification and formulation of those relationships that IS the programming process, the rest is called 'Coding' and involves no real awareness of the problem domain.
So, do they mean coding or do they mean programming ?
A computer cannot yet 'program' itself as 'programming' implies stating and solving a given problem, which would require awareness and 'intelligence'.
Coding automatically is a different matter. The transcribing of a solution into code CAN be automated providing that the machine can interpret the semantics. If we can get a machine to fathom the semantics of some stylisation of human language then it CAN compile the code.
So far we've met the machine more than halfway on the semantics issue - It can be argued that BASIC, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol, Turtle Logo(heh) move towards using heavily stylised english to provide precise instructions (programs) to the compiler. As processing power increases and AI approaches become more feasable we will start to see high level languages become far more freeform.
Essentialy we are talking about an AI which can interpret high level spoken/written instructions and then implement those instructions in code. But thats a long way from 'self-programming' and it doesn't mean that everyone will suddenly be able to write software in english, in the same way that having fingers doesn't make you a surgeon.
We require a 'programmer' - Even if the programming is related to the machine in spoken language. We cannot expect to just say 'Write me a cool game' until machines become more than machine.
And when that happens, well, we will face a whole load of tricky issues besides 'who will write the code'.
Helena,
FallingStar(UK) | |
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