programmer

Noun

programmer (plural programmers)

1. One who writes computer programs.
   • More important, when we looked at who worked in that industry, we noticed that programmers were in the minority. They’re dwarfed by, among other occupations, the software developers. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but the jobs follow very different trajectories. Nationwide...2025 March 14, Andrew Van Dam, “Department of Data: More than a quarter of computer-programming jobs just vanished. What happened? Learning to code was supposedly the salvation of millions of liberal...

   Synonyms:

   coder, computer programmer, code monkey, software programmer

2. One who decides which programs will be shown on a television station, or which songs will be played on a radio station.
   • The handful of never-ending summer classics annually activated by rock-radio programmers.1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 151
   • So if there is a real shortage of training material and opportunities for radio programmers, then let's write some.2005, Steve Warren, Radio
3. A device that installs or controls a software program in some other machine.
   • The EPROM programmer burns the data into the EPROM chip. When programming is completed, remove the EPROM chip and plug it into the circuit […]1999, Peter Spasov, Microcontroller technology, the 68HC11
   • This system comprises a boiler with its own thermostat to regulate the water temperature, a pump, a hot-water storage tank, a room thermostat and some form of timed programmer.2015, Brian Scaddan, Electrical Installation Work, page 201
4. (archaic) A short film feature as part of a longer film program.
   • As a programmer, the Chan series is linked to the B picture, known for its low production value and overt, disruptive, unpolished, even lurid narratives.2019, Delia Malia Caparoso Konzett, Hollywood at the Intersection of Race and Identity