In our modern day society, many aspects in our life are managed or controlled by computer software. From the alarms on our cell phones that wake us up, to the lights that direct the traffic on the way to work, to all the ways we stay connected to each other—software drives it all. The ability to program daily life has transformed our culture and society at a phenomenal rate.

Before software, information was static and often recorded on paper. For example, at a typical financial company, the information had to be counted, sorted, and hand-compiled to extract meaningful knowledge from it.

Today, computers quickly compile these reports, giving the analysts an inside perspective into the business in real time. Software allows the programmers to script operations that can be repeated, often millions of times a second. We can't imagine running a business today without the support of software.

Furthermore, entire industries are created by financial software systems. Financial analysts...