Coding as poetry

Just like poetry, writing code is trial and error. You don’t know where you’ll end up when you first begin. You often have to revise, rewrite and try a new form.

Today I watched a TEDx speech about Linux OS by Jim Zemlin, the executive director of The Linux Foundation. He called coders poets—code poets who collaborate, build the unknown and solve problems.

Poets are important. Poets are necessary. Coders too, especially those in the open-source community, are important. This type of collaboration that Zemlin describes is shaping the future of coding, technology and the world.

I’m excited to become a part of the coding community. I’ve been learning from this community since I started my first WordPress site, since I began creating interactive charts, maps and graphics for Capital News Service and News21. And I’ll continue learning from the forums, tutorials, libraries and new tools that these coders and hackers find and create.