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Comment by Tichy | Hacker News Reader

Yes and no - challenge: how would the people manning the checkout counter at my local supermarket benefit from being able to program?

Not that supermarkets couldn't be improved by programming, but the people manning the checkouts are hardly in the position to do so?

Granted, there might be other aspects of their lives that they might be able to enhance.

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There is significant delineation between "learning to program" and "becoming a programmer." In the author's context, it was a simple make vs. buy decision. A simple script was better than the alternatives available, and was a more suitable solution to hack it together. Would his hack be production-ready/salable? No.

But, how many projects have you worked on where the if the client had built a basic prototype, it would improve your ability as a contractor to build it right? The client would have more appreciation/context for the level and scope of work needed for the project. How much more work would there be if every grocery-store clerk had such basic knowledge and appreciation? Is he going to make the job market more competitive in programming? No.

The result of an influx of beginner programmers (or a society-wide basic threshold of programming knowledge), IMO, would be more and better end products, reduced frustration on all sides, and more innovation. I hired teams/contractors for projects in the past, and was unhappy with the result. And I attribute it not to the level of competence of the contractor, but my own. I've taken up the mantle and begun learning to program over the last year (Python/RoR/PHP/JavaScript/HTML5/CSS), and am working on building my own prototypes. But I know I can't much get beyond that, and will need-and be better able-to identify, recruit, and collaborate with professionals to take those prototypes to the next level.

Many professional programmers are autodidacts, not university-trained computer scientists. You have to start somewhere. It is easy to find a free/cheap programming book and "get started." But that is a far cry from building a testable, scalable solution.

In today's society, where technology is ubiquitous, the author's call for programming to be a basic educational goal is appropriate. His eloquent framework about reimagining the "interfaces of our lives" carries weight. If the average person gave more thought to these issues, and had a basic understanding of the technology needed to pursue such innovation, the impact would be significant.

The world needs more autodidacts, and people who think critically about their environment. More education all around is a good thing for not just technology but society in general. Would these newfound beginner hackers detract or add value? I believe the latter.

And how likely is it, that this job will still exist in a few years?

Granted, there will always be service jobs, where physical presence and a polite smile is all that is required. But I don't see that checkout counters belong to those.

The big box store retailers have been trying for years to get computerized checkout systems to work. They're clunky, slow, and while they require perhaps a quarter the amount of staff to run, the ones in my local big box store seem to break down frequently.

Sounds like a potential startup. :) If you could build a better one (which shouldn't be that hard if they're so bad, right?) you could dominate!

I like it when they have both, since sometimes I want a checker and bagger, especially if I have a bunch of stuff. Other times I just want to get in and out and the machine is consistently faster than checker + line.

Of course, the real issue is that lines are good for businesses. They keep the customer in the store longer, with more opportunity to spontaneously buy all that shiny stuff near or at the checkout stands... WalMart has like 10 self-checkout machines but every time I've been there they've had most or all of them turned off. I don't think it's because all of them had errors.

There's serious barriers to entry, probably a legal maze to navigate, and then convincing the big box stores that their current system sucks. Worse is better, right?

No legal issues, though you would want some insurance. Even if there are, if you get something that works then the big boys like Wallmart will fix things up for you.

So what? Just because I it will most likely happen doesn't mean anyone knows, when it will happen.

Not to mention the fact that most times, it's easier to go through the line with a check-out person running the register. Not only do they do the work, but the self check-out lines at grocery stores often aren't set up for buying a lot of items.

If you have more than five things, it's typically easier just to let the check-out person do it for you.

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