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From: jor@odgate.odesta.com (Jor Bratko)
Newsgroups: comp.object
Subject: Re: Software "Engineers"
Message-ID: <1991Apr19.152242.8822@odgate.odesta.com>
Date: 19 Apr 91 15:22:42 GMT
References: <3844@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <1991Apr15.230909@ece.arizona.edu>
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Odesta Corporation, Northbrook IL.
Lines: 50

In article <1991Apr15.230909@ece.arizona.edu> dan@ece.arizona.edu (Dan Filiberti) writes:
>A couple of definitions: (from Webster's of course)
>
>engineering - the application of science and math by which the
>	properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature
>	are made useful to man in structures, machines, products,
>	systems, and processes.
>
>science - knowledge obtained through study or practice (many 
>	more defs)

>What you are talking about is natural science...
>
>"Software engineering" then would be defined as:  the application of
>knowledge obtained through study or practice of writing software.  
>I have no problem with that, why does everybody else?

>		Daniel Filiberti
>		dan@helios.ece.arizona.edu [:)}

This is great!!!

Now I can say that whenever I'm programming, I'm software engineering!
I am writing software, have been for years, that is to say, I've practiced.
Well... you could argue as to whether I've actually gained any knowledge,
or applied it (you'd have to ask my boss :-).

The above paragraph was just to illustrate a problem that can arise from
such a definition. You end up being able to call any programming
"software engineering". It's just a matter of whether it's
_good_ software engineering or not. So is software engineering any different
than programming? Does it help to have both terms mean the same thing?

There are good points to this definition, too (IMHO). It depends on how it's
interpretted. It's good that all programmers can participate in 
"software engineering". I want to become a better team member in my development
team. I want to gain skills and knowledge beyond what I can figure out on my
own. Thinking of myself as a software engineer helps me have this attitude.
My subjective association is that an engineer is one who recognizes that
relying on knowledge/systems that others have researched and developed is
a very powerful thing.

In the midst of Pressmans latest: "Making Software Engineering Happen",
Jor

---
"This sig was made by hand."
Jor Bratko                          Odesta Corporation, Northbrook, IL
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