by Derek—2004.06.29 @ 1240
When I first started doing my own web programming, some of my family members questioned my sanity. "What does programming have to do with graphic design?" they asked. Well, for me it was simple: demand. As I designed more and more websites, I would often get stuck as soon as a client wanted anything dynamic, interactive, or anything with a "form." I was left doing "pretty" designs but couldn't deliver other kinds of results my clients needed. I could create forms all day long, but getting them to post the results was another thing all-together. I got tired of relying on someone else to do what I thought was simple "form processing." At first I found free programs on the web, but I knew I would need more customization.
With the help of a friend, I picked up learning Perl, which was much like learning another language, but was really like learning another way of writing English. I seemed to pick up the syntax quickly and was off programming forms, and a whole slew of my own programs.
Although I really enjoy programming, I've never considered myself a computer programmer. The same friend that introduced me to Perl told me his philosophy that programming and design have a lot in common: they both require creativity. The thought stuck and I have come to believe that the same skills employed in design are easily applied to writing your own computer program. I recently came across an essay entitled, Hackers and Painters, which puts down the ideas very nicely.
[UPDATE: There is also a book available ]