Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!crdgw1!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!percy!nosun!hilbert!jeff From: jeff@hilbert.uucp (Jeff Freedman) Newsgroups: comp.object Subject: Re: Software Engineering (was Re: Documenting OO Systems) Message-ID: <1991Apr22.175022.1660@hilbert.uucp> Date: 22 Apr 91 17:50:22 GMT References: > <1991Apr15.205218.6914@visix.com> Organization: Cypress Semiconductor Northwest, Beaverton Oregon Lines: 26 In article jls@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Showalter) writes: > >I'm a software architect. I build stuff. The actual coding part of >the process is about as creative and interesting to me as driving in >nails would be to a construction engineer. Architects don't pound nails; they draw things, either using pencil-and-paper, or a CAD program. And they think of themselves, at least in part, as artists. Construction engineering is an entirely different field. BTW, I don't dispute that software development has some aspects of engineering. Most programmers are happy to use an existing block of code that does what they need, or a new tool that will help them organize their designs. But much of what we do involves the creation of something new: a friendlier interface, a new language, perhaps a whole new use for a computer. Otherwise, our employers wouldn't be willing to spend so much money on us! And it is this creative process that goes beyond engineering, and that becomes art. You compare "pounding nails" to writing code. But building is a lot more than hammering nails. It can involve the design and creation of custom mouldings, windows and doors. If not an art, it certainly can be considered a craft. I think of software the same way; I love writing it, and enjoy finding ways to make the code faster, or shorter, or easier to understand. Note that Fischer and LeBlanc named their book "Crafting a Compiler". -- Jeff