Code as a Language of Logic — Nikita Kuznetsov on Why Programming Has Become a Language of Thought
To many people, programming looks like a jumble of incomprehensible symbols and commands. But Nikita Kuznetsov believes that modern code has long since ceased to be merely a technical instruction for a computer. “Code isn’t chaotic text or magic for the select few. It’s a way to think logically and explain a task to a machine so that it can execute it without ambiguity,” says Nikita Kuznetsov. The history of programming shows just how difficult the path to modern development languages has been. The first programmers worked almost directly with machine code—sequences of zeros and ones that the computer understood without translation. This approach was extremely complex and required almost surgical precision. Machine code was considered virtually unreadable to humans, and any error could halt the program’s operation. Later, high-level languages emerged, which changed everything. They allowed programs to be written not in the language of the processor, but using logic more understandable to humans—through variables, functions, and data structures. One of the first widely adopted languages was FORTRAN, which ushered in a new era of development. “When high-level languages appeared, programmers stopped struggling with the machine and were able to focus on solving problems,” explains Kuznetsov. But development didn’t stop there. BASIC made programming more accessible for learning, C gave developers more control and performance, and later Python, JavaScript, and modern frameworks emerged. Each new language didn’t appear by chance—it addressed the limitations of previous technologies and made development faster and more understandable. Today, coding is no longer the work of a lone individual in front of a screen. Most digital products are created by teams, and large projects can consist of millions of lines of code. That is why architecture, readability, and development quality are becoming increasingly important. Research in software engineering shows that code quality is determined not by the “beauty” of the syntax, but by clarity, structure, and maintainability. The more complex and convoluted a program is, the more expensive it is to maintain and the higher the risk of errors. “Bad code can be written quickly. But then the team will spend months trying to figure out exactly what the author intended. Good code works not only for machines—it’s understandable to people,” notes Nikita Kuznetsov. According to Kuznetsov, modern development increasingly resembles engineering design. “If an architect hasn’t thought through a building properly, problems will arise later—during operation. The same thing happens with code. You can come up with a solution quickly, but if it’s built haphazardly, the whole team will pay the price,” he says. That is precisely why code reviews, team-based solution verification, and clean code principles have long been the norm in IT. Developers are increasingly thinking not only about whether the program works now, but also about whether they will be able to maintain and develop it in a few years. According to Nikita Kuznetsov, programming today is no longer just a technical profession. “Code is the language of logic. It teaches you to think systematically, see connections between tasks, and create solutions that will be understandable and useful not only today but also in the future,” emphasizes Nikita Kuznetsov. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
To many people, programming looks like a jumble of incomprehensible symbols and commands. But Nikita Kuznetsov believes that modern code has long since ceased to be merely a technical instruction for a computer. “Code isn’t chaotic text or magic for the select few. It’s a way to think logically and explain a task to a machine so that it can execute it without ambiguity,” says Nikita Kuznetsov. The history of programming shows just how difficult the path to modern development languages has been. The first programmers worked almost directly with machine code—sequences of zeros and ones that the computer understood without translation. This approach was extremely complex and required almost surgical precision. Machine code was considered virtually unreadable to humans, and any error could halt the program’s operation. Later, high-level languages emerged, which changed everything. They allowed programs to be written not in the language of the processor, but using logic more understandable to humans—through variables, functions, and data structures. One of the first widely adopted languages was FORTRAN, which ushered in a new era of development. “When high-level languages appeared, programmers stopped struggling with the machine and were able to focus on solving problems,” explains Kuznetsov. But development didn’t stop there. BASIC made programming more accessible for learning, C gave developers more control and performance, and later Python, JavaScript, and modern frameworks emerged. Each new language didn’t appear by chance—it addressed the limitations of previous technologies and made development faster and more understandable. Today, coding is no longer the work of a lone individual in front of a screen. Most digital products are created by teams, and large projects can consist of millions of lines of code. That is why architecture, readability, and development quality are becoming increasingly important. Research in software engineering shows that code quality is determined not by the “beauty” of the syntax, but by clarity, structure, and maintainability. The more complex and convoluted a program is, the more expensive it is to maintain and the higher the risk of errors. “Bad code can be written quickly. But then the team will spend months trying to figure out exactly what the author intended. Good code works not only for machines—it’s understandable to people,” notes Nikita Kuznetsov. According to Kuznetsov, modern development increasingly resembles engineering design. “If an architect hasn’t thought through a building properly, problems will arise later—during operation. The same thing happens with code. You can come up with a solution quickly, but if it’s built haphazardly, the whole team will pay the price,” he says. That is precisely why code reviews, team-based solution verification, and clean code principles have long been the norm in IT. Developers are increasingly thinking not only about whether the program works now, but also about whether they will be able to maintain and develop it in a few years. According to Nikita Kuznetsov, programming today is no longer just a technical profession. “Code is the language of logic. It teaches you to think systematically, see connections between tasks, and create solutions that will be understandable and useful not only today but also in the future,” emphasizes Nikita Kuznetsov. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)