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0 pointsII2II8y ago0 comments

I suspect that there were a number of things going on:

- The bundled development tools were usually still there, but they took a form that those of use who grew up with computers in the 1980s were less likely to acknowledge. Consider how web development took off soon after more traditional languages were removed.

- People are more interested in programming when new technologies appear. There are more itches to scratch, opportunities available, and the barrier to entry is lower.

- Programming simply became more complex. It used to take one line of code to do something. Between the OS and languages requiring more (initialization, boilerplate code, etc.), programming became less appealing. While tools like HyperCard addressed some of this, the distinction between "real" programs and these environments was quite clear.

All of this is driven more by the end user than by industry. And if end users are less keen on programming, why should businesses make the investment in creating tools for them?

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tomc19858y ago

> - Programming simply became more complex. It used to take one line of code to do something. Between the OS and languages requiring more (initialization, boilerplate code, etc.)

It's important to acknowledge that we have done this to ourselves. The amount of job-justifying unnecessary complexity found in today's programming environments make me wonder how the field hasn't yet toppled over itself

mmjaa8y ago

> And if end users are less keen on programming, why should businesses make the investment in creating tools for them?

Alas, I feel that if we don't make it easy for users to become developers, they stay users.

Its not the other way around - clearly there is a market for developers/users. Its just that I think the dividing line is completely arbitrary, and enforced by marketing decisions - not technical or ethical ones.

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