<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>UTas ePrints - Why Johnny Can't Program</title> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/javascript/auto.js"><!-- padder --></script> <style type="text/css" media="screen">@import url(http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/auto.css);</style> <style type="text/css" media="print">@import url(http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/print.css);</style> <link rel="icon" href="/images/eprints/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/eprints/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="Top" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/" /> <link rel="Search" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/search" /> <meta content="Holmes, Neville" name="eprints.creators_name" /> <meta content="neville.holmes@utas.edu.au" name="eprints.creators_id" /> <meta content="article" name="eprints.type" /> <meta content="2007-09-24" name="eprints.datestamp" /> <meta content="2008-01-08 15:30:00" name="eprints.lastmod" /> <meta content="show" name="eprints.metadata_visibility" /> <meta content="Why Johnny Can't Program" name="eprints.title" /> <meta content="pub" name="eprints.ispublished" /> <meta content="280302" name="eprints.subjects" /> <meta content="350211" name="eprints.subjects" /> <meta content="280301" name="eprints.subjects" /> <meta content="public" name="eprints.full_text_status" /> <meta content="system analysis, programming, software development, the Y2K problem" name="eprints.keywords" /> <meta content="This essay has been more formally published as essay 3.4 in the author's book "Computers and People" (Wiley, 2006). This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Copyright 2002 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE." name="eprints.note" /> <meta content="This essay examines the nature of software development and argues that two kinds of workers should be used in projects: system engineers who design the system implemented by the software and monitor its implementation, and programmers who do the actual coding and testing. The Y2K problem is used as an illustration." name="eprints.abstract" /> <meta content="2000-12" name="eprints.date" /> <meta content="published" name="eprints.date_type" /> <meta content="Computer" name="eprints.publication" /> <meta content="33" name="eprints.volume" /> <meta content="12" name="eprints.number" /> <meta content="160, 158-159" name="eprints.pagerange" /> <meta content="10.1109/2.889100" name="eprints.id_number" /> <meta content="UNSPECIFIED" name="eprints.thesis_type" /> <meta content="FALSE" name="eprints.refereed" /> <meta content="0018-9162" name="eprints.issn" /> <meta content="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2.889100" name="eprints.official_url" /> <meta content="Holmes, Neville (2000) Why Johnny Can't Program. Computer, 33 (12). 160, 158-159. ISSN 0018-9162" name="eprints.citation" /> <meta content="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/1/Cm0Dc.pdf" name="eprints.document_url" /> <link rel="schema.DC" href="http://purl.org/DC/elements/1.0/" /> <meta content="Why Johnny Can't Program" name="DC.title" /> <meta content="Holmes, Neville" name="DC.creator" /> <meta content="280302 Software Engineering" name="DC.subject" /> <meta content="350211 Innovation and Technology Management" name="DC.subject" /> <meta content="280301 Programming Techniques" name="DC.subject" /> <meta content="This essay examines the nature of software development and argues that two kinds of workers should be used in projects: system engineers who design the system implemented by the software and monitor its implementation, and programmers who do the actual coding and testing. The Y2K problem is used as an illustration." name="DC.description" /> <meta content="2000-12" name="DC.date" /> <meta content="Article" name="DC.type" /> <meta content="NonPeerReviewed" name="DC.type" /> <meta content="application/pdf" name="DC.format" /> <meta content="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/1/Cm0Dc.pdf" name="DC.identifier" /> <meta content="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2.889100" name="DC.relation" /> <meta content="Holmes, Neville (2000) Why Johnny Can't Program. Computer, 33 (12). 160, 158-159. ISSN 0018-9162" name="DC.identifier" /> <meta content="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/" name="DC.relation" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/BibTeX/epprod-eprint-1977.bib" title="BibTeX" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/ContextObject/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="OpenURL ContextObject" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/ContextObject::Dissertation/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="OpenURL Dissertation" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/ContextObject::Journal/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="OpenURL Journal" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/DC/epprod-eprint-1977.txt" title="Dublin Core" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/DIDL/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="DIDL" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/EndNote/epprod-eprint-1977.enw" title="EndNote" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/HTML/epprod-eprint-1977.html" title="HTML Citation" type="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/METS/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="METS" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/MODS/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="MODS" type="text/xml" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/RIS/epprod-eprint-1977.ris" title="Reference Manager" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/Refer/epprod-eprint-1977.refer" title="Refer" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/Simple/epprod-eprint-1977text" title="Simple Metadata" type="text/plain" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/Text/epprod-eprint-1977.txt" title="ASCII Citation" type="text/plain; charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="alternate" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/export/1977/XML/epprod-eprint-1977.xml" title="EP3 XML" type="text/xml" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" onLoad="loadRoutine(); MM_preloadImages('images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c5_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c7_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c8_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c9_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c10_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c11_f2.gif','images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r6_c4_f2.gif')"> <div class="ep_noprint"><noscript><style type="text/css">@import url(http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/nojs.css);</style></noscript></div> <table width="795" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><script language="JavaScript1.2">mmLoadMenus();</script> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="795"> <!-- fwtable fwsrc="eprints_banner_final2.png" fwbase="ePrints_banner.gif" fwstyle="Dreamweaver" fwdocid = "1249563342" fwnested="0" --> <tr> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="32" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="104" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="44" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="105" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="41" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="16" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="68" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="68" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="68" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="82" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="69" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="98" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="12"><img name="ePrints_banner_r1_c1" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r1_c1.gif" width="795" height="10" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="10" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="6"><img name="ePrints_banner_r2_c1" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r2_c1.gif" width="32" height="118" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td rowspan="5"><a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/"><img name="ePrints_banner_r2_c2" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r2_c2.gif" width="104" height="103" border="0" alt="" /></a></td> <td colspan="10"><img name="ePrints_banner_r2_c3" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r2_c3.gif" width="659" height="41" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="41" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/"><img name="ePrints_banner_r3_c3" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r3_c3.gif" width="190" height="31" border="0" alt="" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2" colspan="7"><img name="ePrints_banner_r3_c6" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r3_c6.gif" width="469" height="37" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="31" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><img name="ePrints_banner_r4_c3" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r4_c3.gif" width="190" height="6" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="6" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c3" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c3.gif" width="149" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td rowspan="2" colspan="2"><a href="/information.html" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout()" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_0821132634_0,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c5');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c5','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c5_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c5" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c5.gif" width="57" height="25" border="0" alt="About" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/view/" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout()" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_0821133021_1,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c7');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c7','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c7_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c7" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c7.gif" width="68" height="25" border="0" alt="Browse" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/perl/search/simple" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout()" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_0821133201_2,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c8');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c8','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c8_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c8" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c8.gif" width="68" height="25" border="0" alt="Search" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/perl/register" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout();" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_1018171924_3,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c9');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c9','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c9_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c9" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c9.gif" width="68" height="25" border="0" alt="register" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/perl/users/home" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout()" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_0821133422_4,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c10');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c10','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c10_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c10" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c10.gif" width="82" height="25" border="0" alt="user area" /></a></td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/help/" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore();MM_startTimeout()" onMouseOver="MM_showMenu(window.mm_menu_0821133514_5,0,25,null,'ePrints_banner_r5_c11');MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r5_c11','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c11_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c11" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c11.gif" width="69" height="25" border="0" alt="Help" /></a></td> <td rowspan="3" colspan="4"><img name="ePrints_banner_r5_c12" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r5_c12.gif" width="98" height="40" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><img name="ePrints_banner_r6_c3" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r6_c3.gif" width="44" height="39" border="0" alt="ePrints home" /></td> <td><a href="/" onMouseOut="MM_swapImgRestore()" onMouseOver="MM_swapImage('ePrints_banner_r6_c4','','/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r6_c4_f2.gif',1);"><img name="ePrints_banner_r6_c4" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r6_c4.gif" width="105" height="24" border="0" alt="ePrints home" /></a></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="24" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img name="ePrints_banner_r7_c2" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r7_c2.gif" width="104" height="15" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td colspan="8"><img name="ePrints_banner_r7_c4" src="/images/eprints/ePrints_banner_r7_c4.gif" width="517" height="15" border="0" alt="" /></td> <td><img src="/images/eprints/spacer.gif" width="1" height="15" border="0" alt="" /></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr><td><table width="100%" style="font-size: 90%; border: solid 1px #ccc; padding: 3px"><tr> <td align="left"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home">Login</a> | <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/register">Create Account</a></td> <td align="right" style="white-space: nowrap"> <form method="get" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/search" style="display:inline"> <input class="ep_tm_searchbarbox" size="20" type="text" name="q" /> <input class="ep_tm_searchbarbutton" value="Search" type="submit" name="_action_search" /> <input type="hidden" name="_order" value="bytitle" /> <input type="hidden" name="basic_srchtype" value="ALL" /> <input type="hidden" name="_satisfyall" value="ALL" /> </form> </td> </tr></table></td></tr> <tr> <td class="toplinks"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="content" --> <div align="center"> <table width="720" class="ep_tm_main"><tr><td align="left"> <h1 class="ep_tm_pagetitle">Why Johnny Can't Program</h1> <p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><span class="person_name">Holmes, Neville</span> (2000) <xhtml:em>Why Johnny Can't Program.</xhtml:em> Computer, 33 (12). 160, 158-159. ISSN 0018-9162</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"></p><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><tr><td valign="top" style="text-align:center"><a onmouseover="EPJS_ShowPreview( event, 'doc_preview_2456' );" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/1/Cm0Dc.pdf" onmouseout="EPJS_HidePreview( event, 'doc_preview_2456' );"><img alt="[img]" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png" class="ep_doc_icon" border="0" /></a><div class="ep_preview" id="doc_preview_2456"><table><tr><td><img alt="" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/thumbnails/1/preview.png" class="ep_preview_image" border="0" /><div class="ep_preview_title">Preview</div></td></tr></table></div></td><td valign="top"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1977/1/Cm0Dc.pdf"><span class="ep_document_citation">PDF</span></a> - Requires a PDF viewer<br />249Kb</td></tr></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block">Official URL: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2.889100">http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2.889100</a></p><div class="not_ep_block"><h2>Abstract</h2><p style="padding-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; margin: 1em auto 0em auto">This essay examines the nature of software development and argues that two kinds of workers should be used in projects: system engineers who design the system implemented by the software and monitor its implementation, and programmers who do the actual coding and testing. The Y2K problem is used as an illustration.</p></div><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" cellpadding="3" class="not_ep_block" border="0"><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Item Type:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Article</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Additional Information:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">This essay has been more formally published as essay 3.4 in the author's book "Computers and People" (Wiley, 2006). This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Copyright 2002 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Keywords:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">system analysis, programming, software development, the Y2K problem</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Subjects:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/280302.html">280000 Information, Computing and Communication Sciences > 280300 Computer Software > 280302 Software Engineering</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/350211.html">350000 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 350200 Business and Management > 350211 Innovation and Technology Management</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/280301.html">280000 Information, Computing and Communication Sciences > 280300 Computer Software > 280301 Programming Techniques</a></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ID Code:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">1977</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited By:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><span class="ep_name_citation"><span class="person_name">Mr Neville Holmes</span></span></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited On:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">24 Sep 2007</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Last Modified:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">09 Jan 2008 02:30</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ePrint Statistics:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a target="ePrintStats" href="/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint;id=1977;">View statistics for this ePrint</a></td></tr></table><p align="right">Repository Staff Only: <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=1977">item control page</a></p> </td></tr></table> </div> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --></td> </tr> <tr> <td><!-- #BeginLibraryItem "/Library/footer_eprints.lbi" --> <table width="795" border="0" align="left" cellpadding="0" class="footer"> <tr valign="top"> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.utas.edu.au">UTAS home</a> | <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/library/">Library home</a> | <a href="/">ePrints home</a> | <a href="/contact.html">contact</a> | <a href="/information.html">about</a> | <a href="/view/">browse</a> | <a href="/perl/search/simple">search</a> | <a href="/perl/register">register</a> | <a href="/perl/users/home">user area</a> | <a href="/help/">help</a></div><br /></td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2"><p><img src="/images/eprints/footerline.gif" width="100%" height="4" /></p></td></tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="68%" class="footer">Authorised by the University Librarian<br /> © University of Tasmania ABN 30 764 374 782<br /> <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/cricos/">CRICOS Provider Code 00586B</a> | <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/copyright/copyright_disclaimers.html">Copyright & Disclaimers</a> | <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/accessibility/index.html">Accessibility</a> | <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/feedback/">Site Feedback</a> </td> <td width="32%"><div align="right"> <p align="right" class="NoPrint"><a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/"><img src="http://www.utas.edu.au/shared/logos/unioftasstrip.gif" alt="University of Tasmania Home Page" width="260" height="16" border="0" align="right" /></a></p> <p align="right" class="NoPrint"><a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/"><br /> </a></p> </div></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><p> </p></td> <td><div align="right"><span class="NoPrint"><a href="http://www.eprints.org/software/"><img src="/images/eprintslogo.gif" alt="ePrints logo" width="77" height="29" border="0" align="bottom" /></a></span></div></td> </tr> </table> <!-- #EndLibraryItem --> <div align="center"></div></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>