A creed is a statement of belief or faith often recited as part of a religious service or organizational gathering. The word “creed” derives from the Latin credo (I believe) or credimus (we believe). Perhaps the oldest is Apostle’s Creed cited in Christianity. However, the Rifleman’s Creed is arguably the most famous, made popular by the Stanley Kubrick war movie “Full Metal Jacket” (warning: language). This has inspired me (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) to write a creed for our noble profession of software development.
Following is the Programmer’s Creed:
This is my program. There are many programs like it but this one is mine. My program is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my program is useless. Without my program, I am useless. I must code my program true. I must code better than my competition who is trying to beat me. I must release my program before he releases his. I will…
My program and I know that what counts in this market is not the number of versions we release, the reach of our marketing, nor the downloads we get. We know that it is the satisfied customers that count. We will satisfy…
My program is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its architecture, its data format, its components and its plug-ins. I will keep my program built and ready, even as I am ready. We will become part of each other. We will…
Before Zod I swear this creed. My program and I are the leaders of our market. We are the masters of our competition. We are the saviors of our customers. So be it, until victory is ours and there are no more bugs, only happy users.
More Programmer Creeds on the Web
We the unwilling, led by the unknowing,
have done so much with so little for so long,
that now we are qualified to do everything with nothing. (source)
Programmer’s Creed from Maryland ColdFusion User’s Group
Programmer’s Creed: The Mark of Quality from SecretGeek (a cynical view)
Programmer’s Creed from Virginia Tech
Article published on July 17, 2008
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July 17th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
that is a famous military quote, actually. the last one.
naval, if i remember correctly.
“we the unwilling..” and so on
July 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Dude, that’s funny! I love Full Metal Jacket, it showed what a brilliant actor Vincent D’Onofrio is. Too bad his talents are wasted on Law+Order.
Now let’s just hope your programming creed doesn’t lead to you the latrine late one night with a loaded keyboard aimed at your head. 😉
July 17th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Shoot I thought you were writing about a washed up metal band
July 17th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
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July 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am
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July 26th, 2008 at 12:35 am
I agree. It was wonderfully written and with such earnest commitment, but I was laughing the whole time. The comment “Shoot I thought you were writing about a washed up metal band” was the icing on the cake.
In addition, I do not think Vincent is wasting his talent, it is still fun watching him make Goren become more eccentric with each episode. Plus, it pays the bills so he can be in all the good indie movies. Keep an eye out for “The Narrows”. It is scheduled to be released later this year and the movie is based on Tim McLoughlin’s novel “Heart of the Old Country”.
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
now we are qualified to do everything with nothing.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I cried a little. Poor programs 🙁
September 16th, 2010 at 4:01 am
The comment “Shoot I thought you were writing about a washed up metal band” was the icing on the cake.