I'm a prolific blogger, and for a while I've been kicking around the idea of starting a new blog to share thoughts with my colleagues about software development. I decided to take the plunge today. I don't know if I'll be updating frequently or not, but add me to your feed and you can read my one post a year if that's how it turns out. :) Also, I encourage people to ask questions, as it will give me more incentive to write new posts. The only restriction is that I'm going to insist on keeping this as a purely professional blog, which means I will not field any questions that aren't at least marginally related to software. If you want to discuss other topics, look me up or email [rglasser *at* apollowebworks *dot* com].
The title of this blog was inspired by a quote from The Mythical Man-Month, by Frederick Brooks. When I read it, I discovered that it perfectly encapsulated the reason why I decided to pick software as a career path.
Brooks wrote:
"The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from pure thought-stuff. He builds castles in the air, from air, creating by exertion of the imagination. Few media of creation are so flexible, so easy to polish and rework, so readily capable of realizing grand conceptual structures.
Yet the program construct, unlike the poet's words, is real in the sense that it moves and works, producing visible outputs separate from the construct itself. It prints results, draws pictures, produces sounds, moves arms. The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.
Programming then is fun because it gratifies creative longings built deep within us and delights sensibilities we have in common with all men."
I hope you enjoy this blog.
