Computer software is fifty year old business. In its infancy, it helped win wars: one of the first uses for computers was to calculate artillery tables, so that cannon could be fired accurately. Today, computer software makes everything happen: we could not fly planes or run large enterprises without computer software. 

But it is the only business where the inputs are so disorganized and is considered more of an art than a science. There is no single programming language, there is no licensing exam, there is no structural definition. If you want to wire a house for electricity, you have the National Electrical Code book, which is over 2000 pages. If you want to write a software program, there is no accepted standard. Well, the United States Department of Defense has one, but they are not used outside the Pentagon. 

The computer software industry needs to come up with a standard. It will take a long time, and will likely stifle innovation in the beginning, but the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks.

Here are some very good quotes on computer programming.

Excerpt:

“Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.”

-  Alan Kay