DEVOPSdigest

It is the 256th day of the year, and do you know what that means? It is the day in which we celebrate International Programmers Day. This is the day that is designed to recognize the efforts of programmers and software developers who are involved in creating, maintaining and enhancing the software and programs that power everyday life.

Why the 256th Day?

Here is a little background on why Sept. 12 is a day we celebrate those who push the boundaries of technology. The first International Programmers Day occurred in 2002. The 256th day was chosen because of the significance to programming: 256 is a number of distinct values that can be represented with an eight-bit byte, and the highest power of two which is less than 365. The twist is the day is only celebrated on Sept. 12 during leap years, the other 75% are observed on Sept. 13.

It must be noted that the 256th day of the year is not the only day designated for programmer recognition. January 7 and October 12 are dates that some celebrate programmers.

Why Are Programmers Important?

First, we programmers make an enormous positive impact on the world with all of our applications and software that play a role in many aspects of life. Our efforts can be found powering systems such as the complex chain of steps that must occur for every credit or debit transaction to the code needed for streaming your favorite movies to the development of the lifesaving systems found in hospitals, emergency vehicles or in a walk-in clinic. Also, programmers are crucial to delivering those popular video games that people within and outside the IT space love to play. At this point I must add, I do think it is appropriate that International Programmers Day shares Sept. 12, 2024, with National Video Game day.

Why Do I Love Programming?

When I was first thinking about becoming a programmer, I realized that there had to be people behind these applications and software that make life easier, assist with decision making and diagnosis, entertaining us and everything that powers our daily lives. As I explored the profession, it became obvious to me that in order to create technological advances and to "code" them into the fabric of everyday life, the people doing this had to possess an impressive set of skills. I knew early in the exploration that I wanted to be a part of that.

My time as a programmer has been and continues to be an exciting journey. It began with me being a part of the early days of online of banking, and now, I find myself playing a role in harnessing AI for use in DevOps and performance engineering. Like many of you, I receive a great deal of satisfaction from my efforts going live and knowing that some work is being used by family and friends even as I write this post.

What Can You Do on Programmers Day?

There are a number of things that you can do to celebrate this day, ranging from fun to inspirational activities. For today, one of the coolest ideas that I have seen is to communicate in code with your fellow programmers. You can reach out to your mentors to thank them for the impact they have had on your career. Also, you can make sure to give your coworkers a shout out for their great work.

For the future, you can become a programming mentor and pass along your knowledge and passion for programming to an aspiring developer. You and your organization can also hold a code-a-thon or hack-a-thon for established professionals or young programmers to test skills or to provide a solution to a challenge.

Finally, I want to wish each of you a Happy Programmers Day and wish you much success until the 256th day of 2025! Looking forward to another year with an overflow of innovation and accomplishments!