A Programmer’s Oath - Part 01

Here’s a recap of a talk by Uncle Bob on a programmer’s oath:


“ Programming, as a profession, is of great importance to society. Other professions with similar importance have oaths and codes of conduct to guide the professionals in their field, like M.D’s and lawyers. This has benefitted their professions in many ways, like taking the lead in the creation of legislature.”

(Read my extended summary of Uncle Bob’s presentation).


The oath Uncle Bob proposed in the talk seems to be comprised of code centric points (five out of nine literally mention code). At many points it seems to be more of an opinionated work instruction, than oath aspiring to higher goals. 

In my opinion it mainly shows how unfamiliar our profession is with oaths (and probably ethics). Still, other fields have been swearing oaths for millennia. Like any good coder, we should build on the work of others. This should allow us to skip a few millennia... more on this tomorrow.

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