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From: tsarver@andersen.uucp (Tom Sarver)
Subject: Re: Creativity in Computing (Was Re: Art vs. Engineering)
Message-ID: <1991May20.150345.29835@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>
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Date: Mon, 20 May 1991 15:03:45 GMT
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In article <36650013@hpopd.pwd.hp.com> daves@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (Dave Straker) writes:
>>The conclusion of this posting is that software engineering is still
>>pre-paradigm as evidenced by the lack of a generally agreed upon way
>>of looking at software, AND the weakness of the supporting science,
>>computer science.  HOWEVER, software is such a gosh-dern useful thing,
>>people are willing to shell out big bucks for sub-otpimal solutions.
>
>Sounds reasonable to me. (but is it art ;@)
>
It is art if you consider an artisan as one who chooses from a quasi-
infinite number of possibles to accomplish a goal with a subjective
means of measuring progress towards the goal.  It is the difference
between objective and subjective, codified knowledge and apprenticeship.

>>of a scientific discipline.  The second reference is an article by
>>Mary Shaw of Carnegie Mellon University, "Propsects for an Engineering
>>Discipline of Software."  This article examines a definition of
>
>Can you give the full reference to this, please?
>
I apologize.  I intended to give the reference before the summary.  It is
in _IEEE Software_, November 1990.

>>
>>--Tom Sarver
>
>Dave Straker            Pinewood Information Systems Division (PWD not PISD)
>[8-{)                   HPDESK: David Straker/HP1600/01
>                        Unix:   daves@hpopd.pwd.hp.com

--Tom Sarver
tsarver@andersen.com