Design machines

The first thing that might come to mind when you have never thought about programming before is that it is much too complicated. All of the big programs are developed by large teams of engineering professionals. Programs with lots of features need to be complex: a lot of different expectations have to be addressed.

But it isn't necessary to start at the highest level. The program that the investigating designer needs might not be complex at all. It's possible the problem could be solved with a few lines of easily explained code. Just as any other skill, programming starts by applying a couple of basic principles. You see it work (however clumsily) and the job gets done! The next time a similar problem shows up the solution is clear. Even if you know just a few lines of code, one or two tricks, you can already apply them to real world problems. Admittedly there is a learning curve and it might not be the right thing for everyone, but that is true for any skill. Programming and design are complementary.

On the following pages we show programming applied to simple design principles, as well as some real-life applications.