[bobochan]

I agree with you, but I think that "entry level programming" is unfortunately much further away from the general public. I can still roll over to my Apple //e, reach around and flick the power switch, and be right into a BASIC prompt so that I can start typing in commands. Writing a game in the mid-80s meant a text adventure that would eventually be printed out and published in magazine. The first game that I ever bought was "Ultima" and it came on a floppy inside a resealable gallon kitchen bag. I talk to middle school students all the time that want to know how to code their first FPS before they have even got Hello World up and running.

Setting aside what is best for programmers and their "status," it seems to me that what business needs are hundreds of thousands of employees that have at least enough of a programming background that they can automate some of their most mundane and repetitive tasks. I used to work in finance and I would sometimes wander through the rows of analysts and account managers copying and pasting spreadsheet data and making charts and presentations deep into the night. It is time to stop that insanity, to expose everyone to enough programming so that concepts like loops and if/then statements are understandable.