I'm starting to feel like there should be an explicit semantic distinction in software development between "automation" (manipulating existing tools to make someone's workflow easier) and "tool development" (making new tools for people to use).

And I don't mean a rigid technical distinction, or necessarily even a career distinction, but a *semantic* distinction when talking about what you or someone else are currently doing with a computer. Right now these two are often grouped together into "software development" (or one is ignored entirely) even though they have very different needs and audiences.

Also wondering how this relates to the huge tool quality gap that currently exists between 'office automation' with Excel and such, and application development.