The computer users knowing how to code analogy doesn't quite work. Writing code, programming, application development, whatever you want to call it, it's not on the same level as changing the oil in a car engine or mtb fork. It's more like machining new parts (down to bolts potentially), molding new carbon thingies, maybe even just assembling a whole bike from parts depending on the abstraction level of a chosen programming language or development system.
Changing motor or fork oil is more akin to: running a virus scan, defragmenting a disk (don't really need to do this anymore, but it makes a point), or making sure your programs and drivers are updated. Even more advanced things analogous to changing an engine (new CPU), or just adding a roof rack (extra hard drive, maybe), don't need coding skills.
I get what you're saying, that for most things users/owners don't need to be, and arguably shouldn't be, maintenance experts, but the coding analogy is just way off. Oil changes, fork maintenance, or component swaps is closer to doing Geek Squad work: not disparaging anyone, it's just a different skill set: many professional programmers wouldn't have a clue how to upgrade a CPU.
March 10, 2022, 8:12 a.m. - Justin White
The computer users knowing how to code analogy doesn't quite work. Writing code, programming, application development, whatever you want to call it, it's not on the same level as changing the oil in a car engine or mtb fork. It's more like machining new parts (down to bolts potentially), molding new carbon thingies, maybe even just assembling a whole bike from parts depending on the abstraction level of a chosen programming language or development system. Changing motor or fork oil is more akin to: running a virus scan, defragmenting a disk (don't really need to do this anymore, but it makes a point), or making sure your programs and drivers are updated. Even more advanced things analogous to changing an engine (new CPU), or just adding a roof rack (extra hard drive, maybe), don't need coding skills. I get what you're saying, that for most things users/owners don't need to be, and arguably shouldn't be, maintenance experts, but the coding analogy is just way off. Oil changes, fork maintenance, or component swaps is closer to doing Geek Squad work: not disparaging anyone, it's just a different skill set: many professional programmers wouldn't have a clue how to upgrade a CPU.