“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

I want to start this final blog post with some interesting statistics. According to ZDNet, at the end of 2018, there were about 6.3 million C/C++ developers.

Now consider this: ISOCPP, the committee which determines that standards for C++, reports an attendance at their triennial meetings of 100-140 people (about 0.0022% of the C/C++ community). FYI, this meeting is open to anyone who wants to attend.

You would think that software engineers, who rely heavily on an active, informed, egalitarian community to promote the advancement, security and stability of their work, would be climbing over each other to participate in something like this.

The C++ committee is a “small world” that affects a universe of developers. C++, like every programming language, has compromises, flaws, and problems. How many of us will fix these problems and advance our discipline?

With the enormous amount of trust we place in the code and modules we use, we must promote critical discussions about standards and practices to protect our industry and clients.

One thing I love about programmers is they are quintessential skeptics. If you ask a coding question on the internet, you’ll inevitably get 5 different (and probably valid) responses. You’ll also get statistics, documentation, citations, workarounds and philosophical arguments. But too much reliance on discourse like this is counterproductive, creating confusion, lack of standards, and in some cases creating bad habits.

We should try to focus our efforts on being productive communities and good citizens of the communities we occupy. Be curious – don’t be afraid to speak up – listen with intention. The kindness and hard work we share can only help us make the future of programming as bright as we imagined it when we were kids.

I’ve enjoyed writing this blog, and would like to end with a challenge to you (and to me): be a part of something bigger than yourself in 2022 – get out of your comfort zone.

Attend PyCon or find a programming meetup in your city.

Read the docs (the whole thing!) – and fix any mistakes you find.

Post challenging questions.

Learn the history of your primary programming language.

Start a coding study group!

Write a library to solve a problem you frequently encounter.

Be a patient teacher. Be a good citizen. Be kind.

“Never Doubt That A Small Group […]”. National Museum of American History Behring Center.
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1285394 (accessed Feb 18, 2022)

L. Tung. “Programming languages: Python developers now outnumber Java Ones”.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/programming-languages-python-developers-now-outnumber-java-ones/ (accessed Feb 18, 2022).

“Meetings and Participation”. ISOCPP.
https://isocpp.org/std/meetings-and-participation (accessed Feb 18, 2022).

“Join us at PyCon”. pycon.org.
https://pycon.org/ (accessed Feb 18, 2022).