What Is Programming?

Abstract

Research into the cognitive aspects of programming originated in the study of professional programmers (either experts or those learning to program). As personal computers become widespread, and most new domestic appliances incorporate microprocessors, many more people are engaging in programming-like activities. Some of these are studied as end-user programmers, by analogy to professional programming, but many encounter tasks and contexts completely unlike conventional programming. This paper analyses the generic nature of these new kinds of programming, identifies the cognitive demands that characterize them, and presents one possibility for a cognitive model of programming whose development was driven by these concerns.