"Real Programmer" syndrome is the condition of intentionally refusing to use, and often even belittling, the latest software development practices and tools. Due to the rapid evolution of computer technology, new programming languages, libraries and frameworks, editing and debugging tools, version control systems, and even software development methodologies are continually being introduced to automate common tasks and make the programmer's life easier. State of the artdevelopment practices from any given year are often almost unheard of a decade later. Some programmers who "grew up" on the older systems disdain the new innovations as coddling junior programmers and making the challenges of software development seem easier than they actually are. Those who had to learn to use the older tools and limitations are the "real programmers", and those who cannotsurvive without the newer automated assistance are derided as imposters. As a result, both the "real programmers" and the "imposters" often voluntarily work long hours with inadequate tools in an attempt to prove their worth or the superiority of their methods, damaging some programmers' health as a result of the strain.
Beliefs
In 1980s "Real programmers" were believed to prefer working in low-level programming languages that offer little abstraction or insulation from the physical hardware, and to ignore structured programming practices in favor of hand-crafting their control flow. These techniques can access unique hardware features and surprising performance, but are often unforgiving of the smallest mistakes. "Real programmers" aren't supposed to make errors in their code, so primitive editors are adequate and the latest debugging tools are unnecessary. Documentation is also considered frivolous, as a "real programmer" should just read other programmers' source code or manually inspect the contents of memory if he or she wants to understand how something works. Many of these beliefs were described in the early 1980sessays "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" and "The Story of Mel," which inspired many subsequent articles, webcomics and in-jokes—with the exact defining features of a "Real Programmer" differing with time and place.
