[customguy]

Most programming is throwaway garbage, and if plumbing was treated remotely like that we'd be in deep shit, literally.

I never had plumbers come in and complain about the previous guy. They either changed something, or fixed something I caused. And whatever they did, it worked for years and decades, perfectly, even when I didn't treat it as well as I should have.

And to make things boring and banal is still an "art", for lack of a better word. You don't want your functions named like in minified code, you don't want ThisIsTheEntryPointOfTheProgram() either, and what do to instead can be subject of endless deliberation and discussion. We take all these "small" things for granted because we take churn and bloat for granted, and don't care, in a way plumbers would never. They don't have a new pipe material every week they install everywhere now, until the next fad that finally fixes everything for sure. They generally build stuff that lasts longer than people, so that profession is on a whole other planet IMO.

[wrey]

I get your point, but I think that's a poor example. I've been around plenty of Plumbers, Mechanics, Contractors, and Electricians. You're almost guaranteed a comment or remark about the previous guy's work.

[customguy]

I didn't say it doesn't happen, but I for one never experienced it, I saw zero churn and posturing or kool-aid. I guess plumbing got more professional the more widespread and crucial it became, while software is just getting sloppier and more bloated.

[theshrike79]

> I never had plumbers come in and complain about the previous guy.

True, it's the electricians who do this =)