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From: plogan@mentor.com (Patrick Logan)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Programmer Licensing?
Message-ID: <1989Oct19.210055.2770@mentor.com>
Date: 19 Oct 89 21:00:55 GMT
References: <39400056@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <242@cherry5.UUCP>
Organization: engr
Lines: 46
In-reply-to: murphyn@cell.mot.COM's message of 18 Oct 89 14:37:39 GMT

In article <242@cherry5.UUCP> murphyn@cell.mot.COM (Neal P. Murphy) writes:
  > In article <39400056@m.cs.uiuc.edu> render@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
  > >
  > > ...
  > >
  > >From the Champaign (IL) News-Gazette (Oct. 15, 1989):
  > >
  > >	Report: Billions wasted on computer software
  > >
  > >	SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRN) -- Errant computer software has killed
  > >	patients with too much radiation, caused a civilian airliner
  > >	to be shot from the sky, produced gigantic defense cost
  > >	overruns -- and is still inadequately regulated, according to a
  > >	congressional report.
  > >
  > > ...
  > 
  > ...
  > 
  > I abhor the idea of licensing programmers:  either it will be another piece
  > of worthless paper one must pay $50 to receive, or we will all become
  > bogged down in bureaucratic paperwork.  The latter would be an effective
  > cure for software ills, since we would be too busy filling out forms to get
  > any software written!  Voila!  No more software bugs!  Seriously, I don't
  > see the need for any government meddling.  The software engineering
  > community is pretty much self-regulating.  Besides, a government mandate
  > would not have eliminated those errors.
  > 
  > NPN

I don't get it. Before any examination can be used to qualify
programmers for developing "fail-safe" software, doesn't there have to
be a sure-fire way of developing "fail-safe" software? Until we get to
that point, licensing is a moot point. Except, as NPN jokes, it can
slow down the process of developing today's failure-prone software.

I'm trying to be serious. The important issue, for myself, is that
developing "correct" programs is incredibly hard. I cannot see how any
kind of licensing at this point can contribute significantly to the
solution. It may serve to indicate what skills and experience a
programmer does have, but that sort of thing is reasonably determined
during an interview anyway.
-- 
Patrick Logan                | ...!{decwrl,sequent,tessi}!mntgfx!plogan 
Mentor Graphics Corporation  | plogan@pdx.MENTOR.COM                    
Beaverton, Oregon            |