Programming as theory building☆

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Abstract

Some views on programming, taken in a wide sense and regarded as a human activity, are presented. Accepting that programs will not only have to be designed and produced, but also modified so as to cater for changing demands, it is concluded that the proper, primary aim of programming is, not to produce programs, but to have the programmers build theories of the manner in which the problems at hand are solved by program execution. The implications of such a view of programming on matters such as program life and modification, system development methods, and the professional status of programmers, are discussed.

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☆
Invited keynote address at Euromicro 84, 1984 August 28, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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