APIs, Not Apps: What the Future Will Be Like When Everyone Can Code

An anonymous reader writes: There's been a huge push over the last few years to make programming part of the core academic curriculum. Hype or not, software developer Al Sweigart takes a shot at predicting what this will be in a future where some degree of coding skill is commonplace and he has an interesting take on it: "More programmers doesn't just mean more apps in app stores or clones of existing websites. Universal coding literacy doesn't increase the supply of web services so much as increase the sophistication in how web services are used. Programming—by which I mean being able to direct a computer to access data, organize it, and then make decisions based on it— will open up not only a popular ability to make more of online services, but also to demand more.

Almost every major website has an Application Program Interface (API), a formal specification for software to retrieve data and make requests similar to human-directed browsers. ... The vast majority of users don't use these APIs—or even know what an API is—because programming is something that they've left to the professionals. But when coding becomes universal, so will the expectation that websites become accessible to more than just browsers."

Comments

"When everyone can code . . . "

[PolygamousRanchKid]

. . . everyone will just think that they can code.

Hey, I have a Black & Decker cordless drill! And a can of Spackle . . . I guess that makes me a dentist!

Re:"When everyone can code . . . "

[Dutch Gun]

The trend is actually reversing in some ways. Many kids are no longer interested in tinkering with PCs - which used to be a near requirement just to get them to work. They just see them as appliances now, about as interesting or exciting as their refrigerator, except for what it can DO for them. And it's often easier and more convenient for them to simply use their iPad.

So, no, I just don't see a world in which everyone is a programmer. There will certainly be a lot MORE programmers than ever, but it will still be viewed as something of a black art by the rest of the population. It's no different than an auto mechanic in that regard. The average person nowadays opens the hood of their cars and their eyes glaze over. They have no idea how to fix anything in there, and they don't want to know. There are people who do that for a living, and it's far more efficient to simply pay someone else to fix it.

Seriously, can you imagine an average person wanting to program something for themselves to scratch some itch, or do you think they'll just find a $5 app to take care of it for them? The second scenario sounds a hell of a lot more likely to me.

Re:"When everyone can code . . . "

[hawguy]

. . . everyone will just think that they can code.

Hey, I have a Black & Decker cordless drill! And a can of Spackle . . . I guess that makes me a dentist!

I don't understand the big push to get everyone to code -- not everyone *wants* to code, nor should they have to. Not everyone knows how to grow their own food, fix their own car, build their own house, and they don't need to - there are specialists for all of those that are better trained and more skilled at it and will do a much better job. Some people may grow a small garden or tinker with cars as a hobby, but few people are capable of effectively growing food for their family or overhauling an engine. Just some people may enjoy creating small (or even large) software projects for fun, but not everyone wants to.

Where have I heard this before?

[Frnknstn]

So with this API stuff, what you are proposing is that all systems should be divided up into functional blocks, where every block has a single logical purpose, and that savvy users are able to chain these functions together however they see fit to suit their purposes?

Where have I heard this idea before? Oh yeah... it's called The Unix Philosophy.