Peopleware Papers: Notes on the Human Side of Software, The

Chapter 49. Arrogant Programming

Were Dante a scion of the digital age, surely he would reserve a circle of hell for the perpetrators of dastardly code. I am not referring to the virus makers and system crackers of the world, for whom hell may be far too good. No, I am thinking of the purveyors of commercial code of such self-centered demeanor that it disregards the operating system, other applications, and often the users and customers as well. These apps with attitude are written as if they were the sole resident software on a stand-alone system, operating with a sense of executive entitlement and reckless disregard for others, be they of human or program form.

I have come to think of this as arrogant programming. Arrogant programming is a species ...