This week Nick Bradbury, best known for his products HomeSite and FeedDemon, wrote a short post titled Code Is Temporary. He talks about the ephemeral nature of code and challenges us to stop wasting our time and build something we care about.

"Developers sweat blood writing code but in the end our code will vanish. That language you’re learning or framework you’re devoted to will disappear in short time. At some point what you create will only be able to run in some nostalgic emulator."

Very little of our code will stand the test of time, lasting decades or more, especially as the evolution of software development continues to accelerate; every week brings new platforms, new languages, new paradigms.

"Your code isn’t important: what matters are the ideas your code brings to life. Shitty code that makes a point is better than perfect code that proves nothing."

Nick hits it right on the head here: the code we write serves a greater purpose than simply craftsmanship, bringing ideas to life is why we write it to begin with.

The nature of software development is unique; simultaneously Art and Science, Form and Function. It is difficult, and entirely futile, to craft brilliant code that has no utility.

"Don’t waste your short life getting lost in the geeky details of the toolkit du jour. Spend it using your skills to create something that matters to you, that may even last longer than you."

Ideas are easy, but transforming ideas into reality (however imperfectly manifested) is how we leave our mark on the world. I have spent most of my career seeking out opportunities to be part of something bigger than myself, to create organizations and institutions that will (hopefully) outlive me. I've also spent far too much energy and time on projects that I had no love for, doing it for the money (Mortgage Driven Development).

"Most developers have far more power than we realize but too many of us squander it building things we don’t care about. Now is your time to make a difference. If you don’t do it now it may never happen."

What are you doing that will make a difference? Maybe it's time for something different.

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