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From: crm@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Charlie Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Theory vs. Practice in CS Education
Message-ID: <16188@duke.cs.duke.edu>
Date: 24 Nov 89 18:00:56 GMT
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All of these discussions (teaching SE, productivity, and licensing)
bring up the question that more and more interests me; it is subtext to
the whole discussion.

What is software engineering?

Boehm claims (Software Engineering Economics, pg 16)

	_Software engineering_ is the application of science and mathematics
	by which the capabilities of computer equipment are made useful to
	man via computer programs, procedures, and associated
	documentation.

...but that doesn't give much guidance to the detailed examination of
what is or is not applicable to learning to be a software engineer.  (It
could be read to require the software engineer to know everything about
nearly everything.)

So let's re-cast the question: assume that there existed a professional
engineer's exam for software engineering.  (I am convinced that one will
exist at sometime in the future, but that's not germane -- let's just
assume that one DOES exist.)

What is on the exam?

I'd propose as a starting point the list of things I laid out in a
previous posting today: theory, major historical applications as
examples of how the theory is applied, some details of the techniques of
software engineering, some discussion of modularity and other tradeoffs.
Does anyone have other topics of interest?  How about topics to be
deleted?

Rich d', Bill Wolfe, I'm specifically interested in your thoughts.

(What is on the PE exam for, say, an electrical engineer?  Does it still
include, for example, questions on power engineering in your state?)
Charlie Martin (crm@cs.duke.edu,mcnc!duke!crm)