In a programmer’s mind

Ancient philosophers by Lawrence OP

Being a software developper gives you a whole lot of possibilities. You are often given confidential documents. You have access to confidential data that most people would not have access too.

I was once maintaining an online shop where every credit card was stored with a simple symmetric cipher with the key in plain text in the code. I could have use all those credit card records if I was unethical but I did not. You should probably not trust at least 50% of every online shops with your private data these days.

I recently created a personal training plan to get better at software development. I searched for some references on the web and I found this document. It is called the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice. It is a highly interesting text which I endorse. I suggest you read it too and endorse it in your own way.

Since I am not part of the official software engineering community, I never had to follow any code of conduct. This code is well written. It express so many good ideas that I can only make it my own by approving it. If you are in the software development field and you do not have any ethical guidelines, have a look and pass it down to your colleagues.