Even if you could code a program from casual english and simple instructions, there would still be an art to creating the correct specifications and wording to get a specific outcome.

Hasn't the coding job been 'about to be replaced' for a decade now?

In this case, it's Javascript. I've ended up doing this in a couple of other languages though (C#, C++).

Thinking about it at greater length, there would be a reasonable improvement in readability if I nested these variables within a struct or object simply because every reference to such a variable would hold the name of the corresponding struct or class. Rather than having to remember that these variables are held at the top of the script, they would know to look for the corresponding struct or class declaration to find them instead.

It's the same format as the original "Learn Python the hard way" series, and extends from there into C

I mentioned having middling mastery of python in the OP, and actually got started learning the language using that exact site (Python the Hard Way). I'll push through that and see where to go from there. Thanks!