The art/craft/commodity continuum - The Passionate Programmer

The art/craft/commodity continuum:

The art/craft/commodity continuum December 27, 2011 When you create art, the purpose is self-expression. When you create software, the purpose is rarely self-expression. When you create software, someone somewhere wants it to perform a set of functions and has a stake in how well those functions are implemented. The definition of “well” is up to the stakeholder. When you create art, you want it to be beautiful, or beautifully ugly, or ornate, or plain. You, the creator, are the stakeholder. You may hope that others find it beautiful, but if they don’t, it’s art—who’s to say what’s good and bad? When you attempt to judge the quality of a commodity good solely in terms of its aesthetic appeal, you ignore the objective evaluation of how well that product meets the needs of its stakeholders. When you attempt to judge the quality of a piece of art solely on some objective measu...

Full article: http://www.chadfowler.com/2011/12/27/the-art-craft-commod...