Check out this great article from Adena Schutzberg at Directions Magazine from earlier this week, “Should All GIS Users Learn to Code?”
Adena’s answer to this question? Yes, they should, and I totally agree. In fact, I’ve been saying it for a while. GIS users don’t need to be experts in multiple languages, but they should be able to both create, understand, and dissect code at some level. I also believe that any self respecting college or university department that teaches GIS should include some programming requirement, whether it is a semester long course or integrated into an advanced GIS course. By learning to code the GIS user becomes not only more flexibile in the workplace, but more valuable to their employer.
So, if you have a few minutes check out Adena’s article. A lot of great points!