Part 1 (Introduction) - (Original Author: [email protected])
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Back in the good old days - the "Golden Era" of computers, it was easy to separate the men from boys
(sometimes called "Real Men" and "Quiche Eaters" in the literature). During this period, the Real Men were
the ones that understood the computer programming, and the Quiche Eaters were the ones that didn't. A
real computer programmer said things like "DO 10 I=1,10" and "ABEND" (they actually talked in capital
letters, you understand), and the rest of world said things like "computers are too complicated for me" and
"I can't relate to computers - they are so impersonal". (A previous work [1] points out that Real Men don't
relate to anything, and aren't afraid of being impersonal.)

But, as usual, times change. We are faced today with a world in which little old ladies can get computers in
their microwave ovens, 12-year old kids can blow Real Men out of the Water playing Asteroids and Pac-Man,
and anyone can buy and even understand their very own Personal Computer. The Real Programmer is in
danger of becoming extinct, of being replaced by high-school students with TRASH-80's.

There is a clear need to point out the difference between the typical high-school junior Pac-Man player
and a Real Programmer. If this difference is made clear, it will give these kids something to aspire to - a
role model a Father Figure. It will also help explain to the employers of Real Programmers why it would be
a mistake to replace the Real Programmers on their staff with 12-year-old Pac-Man players (at a
considerable salary saving).

-to be continued -