> Programming exists so most people don't need to program - in the same way that other professions exist so most people don't need to become experts in medicine, law, engineering, building trades, or car maintenance.
You might as well write, 'reading exists so most people don't need to read,' which would be equivalently true.
> What makes programming so special that it needs to be different here?
Because directing computers to perform work is as fundamental a skill in the modern world as is reading. Yes, there are people nowadays who cannot read, and there are some few jobs for them. But there aren't many, and it's not a good place to be.
Programming is not a specialised skill: it is a general skill with applicability in almost every field of human endeavour.
You might as well write, 'reading exists so most people don't need to read,' which would be equivalently true.
> What makes programming so special that it needs to be different here?
Because directing computers to perform work is as fundamental a skill in the modern world as is reading. Yes, there are people nowadays who cannot read, and there are some few jobs for them. But there aren't many, and it's not a good place to be.
Programming is not a specialised skill: it is a general skill with applicability in almost every field of human endeavour.