Yeah, just a side (and sad) note, I still wonder how comes people approaching programming languages don't know that books, courses and tutorials exist and can be used to learn at least some basic knowledge.
Back in the "Olden Days" before the Internet you had to use objects made from dead trees, I believe that they were called books, to get information
These objects would contain sections named chapters devoted to aspects of the subject that you were interested in and generally led you through the chapters to build up your knowledge using examples of the technique being learned
Nowadays, however, users can jump in at almost any level with no step by step development leading to building up knowledge in stages
Hence we have a question about using numbers appended to the name of a variable to identify them uniquely when arrays would have been introduced during a structured learning process
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don't understand that ppl spend years becoming any kind of competent programmer, who can start with a blank piece of paper and actually plan and write code that will do something?
I think it's like plumbing… ppl think how hard could it be? It's just pipes and water and stuff.
seem not, in some cases, to realize that programs can be read and understood on a line by line basis, that they are not called "languages" without good reason, that programming will involve grammar and syntax and spelling?
I know the feeling when I read something over my head, eyes glazed it's like I can't even see the characters and words and structure anymore. I think the brain protects itself by ignoring details it can't make sense of.
TBC I am talking about any kind of reading, Shakespeare to Stroustrup.
think that there is "a code" for doing just about anything, and if only that code was handed them they would be all set. Like we being mean when we don't just.
a7
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That sounds like a text cut from
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
seems that most web tutorials focus on one feature.
the days of books may be coming to an end, but many books may be valued by size rather than brevity, suggesting a daunting topic or at least investment in time
i think one of the best books for learning what to do with a language is Elements of Programming Style which is 6x0.5x8.5" and only 181 pgs
Why did you quote me three times with the same sentence quoted? 
Don't worry, you'll get royalties for every time. 
a7
…and unlike many online ’resources’, those dead tree compilations were usually written by someone that knew what they were talking about.
Many hobbyists rather ‘do’ than ‘learn’
There is the least code required to do the job
and then there is the code a customer or manager thinks is needed.
The less they know, the more insistent they get.
If you mean "paper books" is sadly true, anyway there's a lot of other options for "books", ranging from kindle (i have it and really appreciate the fact I can bring tons of books with me, even inches thick like Asimov's Foundation quadrilogy..;-)) up to PDFs.
Anyway, it's just for a chat, I wouldn't go any further..
Wow, thanks, I now can finally order my Tesla! 
:
In any discipline, there appear to be people who are interested and capable of learning, and those only capable of applying preformulated answers.
My nature is the former, which worked well in the days when the only sources of information were paper books, magazines, manuals. Direct access to experts was highly limited. It still works now that information is mostly online, except I can get access to it much quicker.
However, this has also allowed the latter group to flourish. I have had a couple of colleagues whose modus operandi was
- apply a template solution from the internet
- present the problem to an expert and get the expert to dictate modifications
- repeat from 2
These people are basically a net loss to the team, as the rest of the team essentially do that person's job for them.
When governments have education initiatives to "get more kids into coding", I suspect they are drawing more from the second group. Kids (and I guess adults) interested in coding are already attracted to the field and motivated to learn.
I have a suspicion that future generations will only have an ability to present problems to ChatGPT.
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Uh oh. I've been asleep for a bit I guess. 
a7
And I have zero confidence that by that time, chatGPT or its progeny will be up to the task.
a7
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And for every 1000 kids exposed to programming there will be a few that write code for a living.
Most bright kids will go into other pursuits.
Maybe some milli Teslas...
I agree. So far I have not seen anyone report a program from chatCPT that has not been doen by someone at some time. To be useful chatCPT needs to be able to conceive a useful, working program that has never, ever, been done before. That was my field of programming for years.
Given that I have seen various incorrect answers from ChatGPT on various topics, if you have any example in mind like that, give it a try, I'm curious.
Just to give it a little test, I asked it (he? she?) to write a program for Arduino UNO to measure the air temperature and turn on a red LED if it exceeds 25 degrees or green if it drops below 5. And it (he? she?) did it! I know it wasn't a hard thing to ask, but it (he? she? Ok, I quit) was able to "change" similar programs to adapt it to my request. Not an easy task, anyway..
my understanding and experience is it is less difficult to write the code given a complete, correct and unambiguous set of requirements than it is to write the requirements.
i doubt chatGPT will be able to read between the lines of some poorly stated requirement to produce code meeting the requesters imagined needs
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The way I see it is, if you are going to go to the trouble of writing a complete, correct, and unambiguous set of requirements, then you might as well do it in your programming language rather than English, thus saving yourself one step. Also, doing it in a programming language rather than English certainly helps with the "unambiguous" part.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO
How can you write a program without knowing what it is required to do ?
Suppose, for instance, that an input is to accept a date.
What code do you write ?