The Craft over Art Apprenticeship Pattern describes how despite us as software developers wanting to make artistic code, we must always prioritize utility over artistry. It is important to make code that serves its purpose over code that is technically challenging or code that has extra features. If we aren’t meeting what our customers want then we are no longer craftsmen.
I think that this pattern is pretty important to keep in mind. I often find myself trying to make code that is interesting or that I think will do a better job than what I am being asked to do, but this sort of over-engineering is not what isn’t what I am being asked to do. Despite wanting to do what I find more fun, the needs of the assignment or customer come first. Function over form. Most of my friends are artists, and my dad is an artisan over being a craftsman, so to me, this isn’t something that comes naturally. Moving forward, I need to make sure to keep in mind that what the customer is asking for is what they want, not what I think would be better. I really liked the emphasis that they put on utility as being paramount. Something that is technologically brilliant but has no utility is ultimately not the job of a craftsman, and not really what we should be looking for as software apprentices. They aren’t saying that we shouldn’t still strive for beauty though, which I am sure I will never quite be able to shake, but just that we need to prioritize the function. I think that this mindset will serve anyone well, especially in this profession. People that can’t listen to what the customer wants won’t last long in any professional field.
I do disagree with the idea that all software must be crafted for utility though. Technologically brilliant software, beautiful software, has a place and is ultimately important to the future of this profession. If developers never thought out of the box to create something truly amazing, we’d still be living in the dark ages. But I do agree with the overall point of function over form. Even in that mindset, however, I think that we should take creative liberties when it is appropriate, and allow ourselves to be shown in our work. Much like the world without art, code without beauty is miserable.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Kurt Maiser's Coding Blog by kmaiser and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.