Wonderful Appearance–Wretched Content

With the advent of relatively inexpensive laser printers, computer output is being routinely typeset. It can be expected that there will be a revolution in the way business and technical documents are created, based on the use of low-cost typesetters. Easy typesetting and graphics is an extension of word-processing capability, which is already widespread. The essential feature of word processing is its ability to quickly reproduce a changed document with mechanical perfection. However, as the appearance improves, the quality of writing seems to fall in proportion. These forces are probably at work: (1) More people can (attempt to) write using better technology, and because writing is hard, novices often produce poor work. (2) With improved technology, projects are attempted that were previously avoided; now they are done, badly. These factors are familiar from programming, and suggest an analogy between creating a document and developing a program. The current word-processing situation corresponds to the undisciplined use of programming languages that preceded so-called “modern programming practices.”