When do you call someone a professional programmer?

Question

Some people think that if you can output hello world you're a programmer
others think that you're only a programmer if you can solve any task giving to you.
what do you think?

Answer 1

I could teach a monkey to output "Hello World!" In my opinion you are a programmer when you understand at least the basics, like how if/else statements work, while and for loops, arrays and iteration, functions, data types and operators. In addition to this, you should know how to actually write basic code in at least one language. HTML/CSS don't count, they are not really programming languages. This is my opinion of the absolute minimum to consider one a beginner programmer.

Answer 2

@synorax why html and css can't be considered as programming languages?

Answer 3

I won't say you CAN'T do some calculations, some programming, but it is not what these languages were designed for. As sql_assassin said, HTML is a markup language. Its purpose is to build the structure of a website, the visual layout. CSS is typically for styling the HTML, to make it look and feel nice. Programming comes into web design when you use JavaScript, PHP, Python, etc.

Answer 4

sql_assassin, so it can't make calculations, if i understand correctly? it just marks what is what and where it goes?

Answer 5

Got it. Thanks!