What is the Day of the Programmer - Origins and why it's important

What is the Day of the Programmer - Origins and why it's important

By  Sam Jones - 31st Aug 2021

How the day came to be and why we should celebrate it

What is the Day of the Programmer - Origins and why it's important

Behind many of our modern day devices and technologies, a band of mighty programmers have put their skills to the test to design, write, test and troubleshoot strenuous lengths of code in order to bring them to life.

While most of their efforts go unnoticed, and perhaps unappreciated it, there is one day each year in which the love is shared for programmers on an international scale. The Day of the Programmer (Programmers' Day) is celebrated on September 13th, or on the 12th during a leap year, as it is the 256th day of the year - which pays tribute to the fact that the distinct value represented with a 8-bit byte is, you've guessed it, 256.

The day is celebrated across many social media platforms and online forums, with programmers and supporters sharing their support. But if this annual event is new to you, we'll take you through its origins and why the Day of the Programmer is important many around the world.

When was Day of the Programmer first introduced?

When was Day of the Programmer first introduced?

The Day of the Programmer's origins go back as far as 2002, when Russian-based Valentin Balt and Michael Cherviakov - employees of software company Parallel Technologies - proposed the idea of a day to recognize the efforts of programmers on a worldwide scale.

The duo even approached the government of Russia with signatures gathered from supporters in attempt to make it official. But it wasn't until July 24th, 2009 that the new professional holiday was introduced as an executive order draft by the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media - with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signing the decree on September 11th of the same year.

Although the Day of the Programmer is accepted internationally, China actually celebrates the event on a different day. Chinese Programmer's Day is celebrated on October 24th.

Having this date also means that it's consistent regardless of whether it's a leap year or not. Some also celebrate the day on January 7th, but the September dates are more commonly used.

Why is Day of the Programmer important?

Why is Day of the Programmer important?

As with any internationally celebrated day, the key message is support. Day of the Programmer is to simply acknowledge and celebrate the work that programmers from around the world achieve on a daily basis - whether it's building games, websites, software, cybersecurity and many other programming roles.

The devices, apps, websites and data processing this post write now relies on the work of programmers - and the world would be a very different place without them!

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