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From: mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Software "Engineers"
Message-ID: <8H86113w164w@mantis.co.uk>
Date: 29 Apr 91 14:59:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: mantis.8H86113w164w
References: <1991Apr25.234953.20537@dbase.A-T.COM>
Organization: Mantis Consultants, Cambridge. UK.
Lines: 29

tomr@dbase.A-T.COM (Tom Rombouts) writes:
> Some of you may recall an article by Karen Hooten in "Computer Language"
> last year titled "An Engineer by Any Other Name"  As I recall, there
> had been several legal decisions stating that as of this point in time
> software developers are _not_ engineers.  This was due in part to any
> sort of standard training or licensing, akin to that found in other
> professions such as law or medicine.

In the UK, membership of the BCS (British Computer Society) and appropriate
experience can gain you a formal software engineering qualification --
chartered engineer status.

> I personally think it is pretentious for programmers to call
> themselves "engineers"

So do I. However, it is not pretentious for software engineers to call
themselves engineers. There is a difference between a programmer and a
software engineer, you see.

I could be catty at this point and assert that software engineers are the
ones who understand the value of techniques such as dynamic typing and formal
correctness proofs, but I think this newsgroup has enough flames in it
already.


mathew

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