The Art of Software Development
When creating a piece of art, the artist will generally have a vision of what they want the finished piece to look like. They will then have to go through many different processes and techniques in order to achieve their vision. This can take months and hundreds of test pieces, before the finished piece has been realised.
This thought process is not unlike modern day programming. The developer will know what they want the software to do but there is then a lengthy process required in between before the final piece of software is finally created. Within the mix there will be a process of consulting with others in order to establish the functionality of the software. It will then have to be transcribed into a development plan which looks at each individual detail to ensure that it all works together seamlessly in order to obtain a functional piece of software. This process can also take months and years to come together (depending on the scope of the project) Also, as with many artworks examples there will be mistakes and errors along the way which have to be removed and then through the process of gradual refinement, a finished piece will be realised.
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist who is credited with painting one of the first modern abstract works. Kandinsky wrote many books about the theory of art and its spiritual significance. He believed that each shape, line, mark and even angles of triangles had spiritual relevance and that art is a spiritual and holistic practice. Even though his paintings seem completely obscure to most, each and every mark and line has been painstakingly planned around his theory and needs to be there as an integral part of the painting. If one bit was missing then the picture simply would not work.
This is much like the developers of today. They too start with a blank canvas and use their creativity in order to try and connect things and through a lot of abstract thinking create something special. Developers are required to get their creative juices flowing when developing code. This is why you will see most developers sporting headphones to get them in the zone when working. Also, like the many examples of Wassily’s pieces of art, it all takes time. This is also true for developers on most medium to large scale software development projects.
In common with abstract works, computer code can appear to be completely foreign to those who don't read or understand it. To those who do understand, they appreciate the importance and the function/purpose behind each line of code, as well as the creativity required to create it. So as in the creation of an artistic master piece, every aspect of the software has been painstakingly planned, with everything having its place and ensuring each part serves it's purpose. Like art, everyone has their own views on how it looks and how to interpret the work correctly.
Writing good code is like the journey to creating an artistic masterpiece, it does not come solely from studying books and lectures – it requires lots of practice. Our developers at SalesAgility have over a decade of experience in creating software masterpieces. We have refined our processes through time in order to create seamless transitions between your business processes and our SuiteCRM solution.
Why not contact us now on 01786 585 499 or [email protected] and get your own masterpiece created today.