“Positive reality, it is the seeking for ideal truth.” - George Sand

Where does the idea end and the program begin?

Here.

The problem with most things I’ve written isn’t how bad they are, it’s how good they aren’t. I am never satisfied with what I do… never. No matter how well structured it is, how efficient it is, how modular it is… it never feels “right”. I keep imagining my program as being better than it is. It’s frustrating. No matter how much I code my applications, they’re never good enough.

I’m convinced a true perfectionist could never be a programmer. Why? What we code is not our program, and a perfectionist could never see that. What a perfectionist would see is the code, and the code is imperfect. If you worry about making the perfect code, you will never be productive… and as we all know: Good programmers get off their butts.

Let’s face it. What we code is not our program. Our program is ideal. It’s amazing, it’s fantastic. It has all the bells and whistles and features anyone could ever need. It organizes your life, takes your kids to the pool, cures cancer and wipes your rear for you when you go to the can. Our programs are amazing. Our code…. eh, not so much.

There’s people out there who proclaim their code is ideal. I applaud them. Their delusions allow them to sleep very well knowing their code is amazing. I, on the other hand, can only dream of the code I can write, whilst having nightmares over code I often must write.

“Tell me where is Fancy bred, Or in the heart or in the head?” - William Shakespear

I hope I’m not alone on this.