【精英翻譯】的部落格

Computer Programmers—Creating the Future Today程式設計師──擔負今天創造未來的使命

精英翻譯社轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/251504/web/

Advances in technology have made computers perform at ever higher levels in processing information and solving problems. However, no matter how "smart" computers may get, they still need people to tell them what to do. Those who do the telling are called computer programmers.

科技進步使得電腦在處理資訊和解決問題方面的表現達到前所未有的高水準。然而，不管電腦變得多「聰明」，仍需要人類告訴它們要做什麼。那些下指令的人被稱為程式設計師。

Programmers are similar to writers, but instead of writing sentences, they write codes, or step-by-step instructions that computers read to function correctly. Just as sentences can make up the parts of a book, codes form a program, which is the programmer's finished product.

程式設計師類似作家，但他們寫的不是句子，而是程式碼，即供電腦讀取以正確運作的逐步指令。如同句子可以組成一本書的片段，程式碼組成程式，程式就是程式設計師的成品。

You might imagine programmers as solitary folks who spend hours in front of a computer. However, this describes just one part of their job. At the start of a project, programmers usually meet with designers, artists, and clients to understand the requirements for the program. Then, programmers may draw diagrams to work out the program's structure. Once this is done, the code-writing process begins. This can take hours or months to complete, depending on the program's complexity.

你也許會想像程式設計師是花好幾個小時在電腦前的獨行俠。不過，這描述只是他們工作的一部分。在企劃之初，程式設計師通常要和設計師、美術人員及客戶開會，了解程式的需求。之後程式設計師可能會畫簡圖來弄清楚程式的架構。一旦這個步驟完成，編碼的程序就開始了。這可能會花數小時或數個月才能完成，取決於程式的複雜度而定。

Finally, programmers test programs repeatedly to check for errors. This is an important stage in the process since programmers are responsible for their program's smooth running.

最後，程式設計師要反覆測試程式，檢查是否有錯誤。這個步驟在程序中至關重要，因為程式設計師要負責讓程式順利運作。