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From: mjl@cs.rit.edu
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: CS education [engineering, mathematics, and computer science]
Message-ID: <1408@cs.rit.edu>
Date: 18 Nov 89 20:06:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.1408
Sender: news@cs.rit.edu
Reply-To: mjl@prague.UUCP (Michael Lutz)
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Lines: 28

Since I started this thread, let me toss out a few more thoughts.  I
think the most important contribution of mathematics to computer
science/software engineering is its mode of inquiry.  I won't discuss
here the particular topics that have been bandied about as being more
or less "related".  Instead, I'd say that it is the approach to problem
solving -- defining a specification or reasoning about a program in the
context of a rigorous axiomatic system -- that most closely ties
mathematics and computing.  In this respect, a good dose of discrete
mathematics or basic modern algebra is appropriate, not so much because
of the topics per se, but rather because the form of the proofs in
these domains maps most closely onto the formal models of computation.
(Of course, the topics themselves contain gems of abstraction and
generalization, for those willing to do some mining).

What bothers me mostis that this implies a significantly deeper
understanding of mathematical principles than is required by other
engineering disciplines.  Or, to phrase it slightly differently:

	Formal methods of software engineering require the engineer
	to think like a mathematician.  This is untrue of any other
	engineering discipline I am aware of.  Why the discrepancy?
	Can we address this by creating "boilerplate" mathematics
	for software engineering?

Mike Lutz
Mike Lutz	Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY
UUCP:		{rutgers,cornell}!rochester!rit!mjl
INTERNET:	mjlics@ultb.isc.rit.edu