Visual Basic® Style Guide, The

What Is Ethics?

As with most words, the dictionary definition of ethics is much simpler than the concept itself. Ethics and morality are among the big ideas of human history. "What is right?" is a question that could be considered as important as "Why am I here?" Although entire libraries can be filled with all of the books written on the topic of ethics, we will limit ourselves to a few key aspects as they pertain to professional programming. Ethics, in this context, is the part of a person's world-view that deals with right and wrong actions and attitudes.

Ethics Is Part of a World-View

Although the discussion of ethics in this book is limited to its effect on programming practices, ethics itself cannot be so limited. Ethics is part of a person's ...