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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc,comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Software Technology is NOT Primitive
Message-ID: <2541@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 2-Nov-87 12:08:47 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.2541
Posted: Mon Nov  2 12:08:47 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Nov-87 10:56:38 EST
References: <3405@ece-csc.UUCP> <638@its63b.ed.ac.uk>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT.
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Xref: mnetor comp.lang.misc:862 comp.software-eng:62


One point which is worth making here, I think.  There are really three areas
of technology here, not two:

1) Basic hardware - how small can you make your components, how close
together can you pack them, how fast do they operate?

2) Hardware design - how effectively do you put together your components?

3) Software - how well do you use the resulting system?

It is the first of these, and only the first, which has seen orders of
magnitude improvements.  I think both hardware design and software design
have made really quite impressive advances.  In any other context, they
would be seen as areas of outstanding development.

But the basic hardware has been doubling its efficiency every few years!

This is unprecedented in any area of technology.  There is no reason we
should expect hardware and software design to advance at the same pace, just
because they happen to be dealing with that technology.  Do you expect your
car to be twice as good at half the price as five years ago, just because
computers are?
-- 

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Ashton-Tate          52 Oakland Ave North         E. Hartford, CT 06108