def getProgrammerObject(self, progName):
prog = self.searchProgrammer(progName)
#no existing programmer found with this name, create one
if (not isinstance(prog, Programmer.Programmer)):
prog = Programmer.Programmer(progName, self.programmerIterator)
#this iterator will also be the node number
self.programmerIterator = self.programmerIterator + 1
#add it to the general overview list
self.listOfProgrammers.append(prog)
return prog
