I can’t tell if this is meant to be a programming font or simply a reaction to programming fonts.  Designed by Raph Levien, this monospaced font is meant to alleviate the garishness of common monospaced fonts when viewed at a high resolution.  The humanist strokes that make it distinct also end up handicapping it at smaller sizes.  That said, it can make the likes of Monaco look down-right crude.

For a programming font with similar sensibilities Consolas is where it’s at, especially if your editor renders certain elements (like code comments) in italics.