Ask HN: coder, developer, hacker, or ...?

2 points by canatan01 12 years ago | 5 comments

Hi all,

What is the most used term for a coder in the US? Is it coder, hacker, developer, engineer, programmer or something else?

Sincerely, Baris

KiwiCoder 12 years ago |

The terms are nearly interchangeable[0] but programmer is more widely used[1].

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer (see first sentence)

[1] http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=coder&...

johnjlocke 12 years ago |

Depends on the skill and expereince level. An engineer would be a high level developer, for instance. I think the connotation of coder is a little bit negative for anyone with skill level.

canatan01 12 years ago | |

Aha, ok. Let me rephrase then: if I want to make a site geared towards people who code, what is the best word to use in the domain name (coder, developer, etc)?

niquels 12 years ago | | |

Programmer would be the best term.

KiwiCoder 12 years ago | |

This seems arbitrary. What's your source?