[jmillikin]

Code can be used to create art. Wood can be used to create art. An HTML parser is not art, any more than disposable chopsticks are.

I've never understood _why's fan base; he seems to be no more than somebody who popped up, wrote a few low-quality libraries for an obscure language, and then vanished.

[davidalln]

I guess we disagree on the definition of art. Those disposable chopsticks still required the search for a satisfactory length, width, smoothness, etc. Not to mention, the label and the marketing which equally requires a mastery of human psychology in order to get their product to sell. In this way, the designers have added something great and unique to the world which many people enjoy and use every day. This is art.

An HTML parser requires fast and efficient code to successfully and quickly read the document. Furthermore, the programmer needs to take into account common variations in HTML code as well as handling nested tags and attributes. And taking it a step further, the HTML parser is used to output the trillions of websites that are currently out there in a visible form for a majority of the developed world. In this way, the designers have added something great and unique to the world which many people enjoy and use every day. This is art.

Then again, I am one of those weird people who likes modern art, so I could be a vocal minority.

[trop]

Indeed! There can be a joy & delight in writing an HTML (or XML) parser. I love that the libxml still has a quote at the top:

"Programming with libxml2 is like the thrilling embrace of an exotic stranger." Mark Pilgrim

That sort of excitement is not just an engineering one.

And, of course, some artists choose not to even write HTML parsers, but to do things more strange, more beautiful with their code. And that is where things really change, and really get exciting.

[gaius]

In that case everything is art and the word loses all its meaning.

[msbarnett]

No, in that case everything skillfully done is art and the world around us becomes something more than mundane dross.

[gaius]

Everyone wants to be an "artist". I'm proud to be a "programmer", no airs and graces, just solid work.

[swernli]

Couldn't an HTML parser be art? I don't think of an a parser as being like the wood used for a sculpture. The HTML itself is the wood, and perhaps the parser is the lathe. I think there is a false dichotomy between tools as purely functional and the product as the art. There can be real artistry in a well constructed tool. A well written, efficient parser can be beautiful to behold.

Maybe this comes down to the difference between something constructed purely for artistic purposes and something constructed in an artistic way to fulfill a broader purpose. Or maybe it's just a matter of personal taste, the way some people will spend hours arguing about whether a soup can is modern art or just pretentious trash. Personally, I'd say that if people are moved and/or inspired by it, than you can make the case that it is art.

[viraptor]

Actually _why reminds me a bit of Hideo Kuze from the GitS. He appeared and gathered people who like him after sharing just a couple of moments, talking to each other. Some sort of "hero" idea is created for him, even though he didn't actively support it (or did he?). He used his specific personality to share ideas which are then applauded and duplicated... These are just the main similarities.

[starkfist]

Well, he's gone now. So you guys won.

[jacquesm]

Are you somehow suggesting that _Why disappeared because of the GP and 'his kind'?

[starkfist]

Yes, that is what I'm suggesting.

[jacquesm]

No wonder you're angry then. Ok, that makes me understand your position in this thread a bit better. Thanks for the explanation!

[steveklabnik]

To give you an example of why starkfist would say something like this, you only need to look at @_why's last few tweets:

"programming is rather thankless. you see your works become replaced by superior works in a year. unable to run at all in a few more."

"if you program and want any longevity to your work, make a game. all else recycles, but people rewrite architectures to keep games alive."

"an ascending homage to fish bones. culminating in a delicate canopy of mouse furs."

... Okay, maybe not that last one. Anyway. He was obviously contemplating all of the stuff we've created around software, and was pretty bummed out by it.

Not that anyone will know _exactly_ why he disappeared, but still.

[jacquesm]

I really fail to see the connection between any of that and what starkfist wrote.