programmierte

Programmierte is a German verb form derived from programmieren, meaning to program. In standard grammar, programmierte is the Präteritum (simple past) for the first person singular ich and the third person singular er/sie/es: ich programmierte, er programmierte. It is used to describe actions that were completed in the past.

It is not the past participle; the past participle is programmiert, used with haben or sein to form the perfect tense: ich habe programmiert, er hat programmiert. The Präteritum form programmierte is more common in written narratives, while spoken German tends to prefer the Perfekt (hat programmiert).

Etymology and usage notes: The verb programmieren is formed with the noun Programm (a plan or set of instructions) plus the verb suffix -ieren. The noun Programm derives from the Latin/French lineage related to programma, reflecting the modern sense of a set of instructions for computing, broadcasting, or scheduling. The term retained its core meaning as technology and media contexts expanded.

Examples: Gestern programmierte ich eine kleine Anwendung. Der Entwickler programmierte die Software, um Daten zu analysieren. In contemporary technical writing, you will also see the perfect tense hat programmiert to describe past work.

See also: Programm, Programmierung, Softwareentwicklung.