
Ask HN: What's the difference between “programmer” and “developer”? - Elect2
And when to use which one?
======
jermaustin1
I've always viewed myself as a developer. I know how to very effectively and
efficiently put pieces of already written code and libraries together to build
new products. I say I'm not a programmer, because I feel that requires more
lower down knowledge and implementation details.

From my experience, a programmer/engineer can build a very efficient reverse
tree sort doodad, and it come out PERFECT awesome, but they rarely build
entire products. Then a developer/architect comes along and takes that brick
and sticks it alongside a bunch of other bricks to release a product.

~~~
mattbgates
I remember when I had just gotten back into programming and I was adding it to
my resume. There is a lot of terminology that could be so different, or it
could mean the same thing.

Developer Programmer Software Engineer Software Specialist Coder Webdev Dev

We can go by so many different names and I really feel that they all
essentially mean the same thing. It could all be about keywords too. Take your
LinkedIn profile and add all those keywords, and you will have LinkedIn
emailing you that people looked at your profile. I think its all a matter of
choice or the position that your company names you.

------
djbelieny
Back in the ancient times of the 90's there were no developers. You were
either a programmer or a systems analyst. Programmers wrote the code and
Systems Analysts gathered requirements and designed the overall system specs,
over time those two jobs kind of merged into what a we call developer, giving
the Programmer/Coder much more say into what an overall system will look
like/behave than before and ultimately reducing the head count. At least I
think that was the idea.

 __EDIT __: Another interesting point is that originally programmers were more
specialized and dedicated to a single set of tools /languages while
developers, when they first appeared, were more concerned with "developing"
the ideas into a useful system and writing it in whatever language got the job
done faster. Now today pretty much anyone with any skill set calls themselves
developers but you see more old timers calling themselves programers.

------
twobyfour
Some people think of a programmer as someone who can write code; and a
developer as someone who can develop solutions.

The difference being that the developer is expected to be able to identify
problems to be solved and the solutions to the problems, in addition to
implementing them. The programmer is told what the problems and solutions are
and only needs to be able to implement them.

However, not everyone makes any such distinction, and in the vernacular the
terms are basically interchangeable. If someone uses one or the other term,
don't assume they make that distinction; assume they're just talking about
someone who can program. If you see one or the other in a job title or
description, you will still want to speak with the hiring manager to
understand the scope of responsibilities.

------
LeoSolaris
Unless there is a "Senior" tag on the title, usually
Programmer/Developer/Engineer/Hacker/Coder are pretty interchangeable across
the industry.

That said, some companies do differentiate, so it pays to really read the
descriptions.

------
skate22
Company A calls the people who build sofyware programmers. Company B calls
them developers. This is the difference.

------
mtmail
Plus coder, software engineer, dev. It's all the same really. Like film vs
movie.

