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From: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu ( ISR group account)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: The programming CULT (WOW!)
Message-ID: <4153@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Date: 8 Aug 90 19:33:27 GMT
References: <1990Aug6.172135.27287@midway.uchicago.edu> <PETE.90Aug6142343@titan.rice.edu>
Reply-To: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Michael S. Schechter - ISR group account)
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Lines: 49

Re: carpenters, film ritics, Civil engineers, and filmamakers:

Both analogies are flawed.
A better one must have three anyway.
One for the CS academic
One for the (possibly) CS-trained analyst/designer
One for production "business-report" coder.

Using carpentry as a similar place to start:
The production coder is a carpenter or bricklayer.
   He/she can perform basic tasks, and may be shown how to do
    different tasks, but generally doesn't see the whole picture.
The system designer/analyst type is like an architect.
   They can perform all the basic tasks, allthough not each one
   quite as well as the narrow specialist. They also must know
   what is on the cutting edge of new techniques and materials,
   while they have to understand the properties, usage, and
   reasons behind these, they aren't interested in the details
   (besides maybe a 1-time curiosity) of how it was proved that
   concrete X actually does turn a nice blue when heated to the
   right temparature
The CS academic is like a researcher at the concrete mill trying to
   develop that nifty new cement that spray paint wipes off of. 
   They have to know all the little details of the insides of the
   cement, but don't have to know what to do with it.It may be true
   he/she doesn't know how to apply the cement, and may have no idea
   that cement top floors with a wooden frame underneath is a bad
   idea, but it doesn't matter - because all that matters is how
   the cement is made and whether spray paint wipes off.

Saying CS training is useless unless one wants to be an academic is
ignoring the fact that the "architects" have to have some idea of
how cement is made.

Saying that the cement designers are responsible for the advances
that lead to better buildings is wrong also.

BOTH the cement designer and the architect are needed. One has the
overall creativity to think up new uses and how new tools may be
applied to them - the other has the focused drive to come up with
new tools that there isn't an immeadiate need for. Occasionally there's
a person who combines both into one. 

BTW, my background (if you want to know how i'm slanted)
is EE dropout-> BS CS -> applied s/w h/w design for PhD's
so I've seen how it goes from a lot of angles.
-- 
Mike Schechter, Computer Engineer,Institute Sensory Research, Syracuse Univ.
InterNet: Mike_Schechter@isr.syr.edu isr@rodan.syr.edu Bitnet: SENSORY@SUNRISE