Code Written By Different Programmers

Code Written By A CS 101 Student public int fibonacci(int n) { if (n <= 1) { return 1; } return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2); } Code Written At A Hackathon public class FibonacciSequence { public static void main(String[] args) { int n = 10; int a = 0; int b = 1; System.out.print(a + " " + b); for (int i = 2; i < n; i++) { int c = a + b; System.out.print(" " + c); a = b; b = c; } } } Code Written At A Startup // TODO add documentation // TODO fix this later // TODO optimize this // This code is written in a different way // because we need to move fast and break things Code Written At A Large Company /* This code has been written over the years by many people. */ Code Written By A Math Ph.D. public int fibonacci(int n) { return n < 2 ? n : fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2); } Code Written By Your Cat public static final int OPEN = 1; public static final int CLOSE = 0; if (something_is_not_working) { return ERROR; } public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println("meow"); }

The image compares how different types of programmers might write code, from a simple recursive Fibonacci function by a CS student to increasingly complex or chaotic versions attributed to hackathon programmers, startups, large companies, mathematicians, and a cat. The joke is that programming style becomes progressively more convoluted, overengineered, or nonsensical depending on the stereotype, making it a reaction meme about software development culture. EN: The image compares how different types of programmers might write code, from a simple recursive Fibonacci function by a CS student to increasingly complex or chaotic versions attributed to hackathon programmers, startups, large companies, mathematicians, and a cat. The joke is that programming style becomes progressively more convoluted, overengineered, or nonsensical depending on the stereotype, making it a reaction meme about software development culture.

• @profunctor_io / 336 2017-10-17
• @ithueti / 50 2017-10-17
• @dev_meme / 506 2019-08-02
• @gentoomemes / 21748 2026-08-20