Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!bu-cs!purdue!decwrl!labrea!neff@helens.Stanford.EDU From: neff@helens.Stanford.EDU (Randall B. Neff) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng Subject: Cynic's Guide to SE #6: Forthcoming Revolt Message-ID: <9@helens.stanford.edu> Date: 29 Sep 88 21:29:05 GMT Sender: neff@anna.stanford.edu (Randall Neff) Reply-To: neff@helens.UUCP (Randall B. Neff) Organization: Stanford University Lines: 62 ------ The Cynic's Guide to Software Engineering ------ ------ an invitation to dialogue, starting with the personal view of ------ ------ Randall Neff @ sierra.stanford.edu ------ ------ Sept 29, 1988 part 6 ------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Coming Revolt in CS Education and the CS Workplace The incredible rate of innovation and product development in the personal computer market has resulted in greatly improved user interfaces for most home computers. These interfaces are available on operating systems (Apple Mac and Microsoft Windows), application software (spreadsheets, databases, and desktop publishing), programming environments (Lightspeed languages and the Turbo languages), and hypertext tools (Apple Hypercard). These user interfaces and programs are better and more productive than the interfaces available on most undergraduate computer systems and most computer systems in the workplace. The provided workplace computers may have more raw cpu power and memory, but still be much harder to use. Aphorisms: If your hardware does not support a mouse, then it is obsolete. If your software does not support a mouse, then it, too, is obsolete. If your hardware does not support color graphics, windows, menus, then it is obsolete. If your software does not support color graphics, windows, menus, then it, too, is obsolete. Batch processing: making people wait in order to minimize computer cycles. Scenario 1: An undergraduate student comes to Stanford to learn Computer Science, paying $4,100 for the quarter. At home he has a typical personal computer (say a Mac with standard software). For his CS homework he gets to use a cheap glass teletype terminal connected to a DEC-20 running TOPS-20 using EMACS and batch compilers. For upper level courses he gets the same terminal connected to an overloaded VAX running UNIX using vi and batch compilers. Now, how can this student take Computer Science seriously when the provided hardware and software is so old-fashioned? Scenario 2: A new grad joins a large, multi-billion dollar corporation as a programmer. He gets a cheap glass teletype connected to a large mainframe running an old operating system (VMS or CMS) using an awful editor (EDT) and batch compilers. However, he is forced to do a lot of his work at home (documentation, overhead slides, budgets) using his personal computer since the provided hardware/software cannot perform those tasks. How can this new employee believe the claims that company is a "world leader in the research, development, manufacture, and delivery of..." or has "a worldwide reputation for blending technological foresight and advanced resources to..." or "reputation is that of a technology and industry leader". The absurdity of have a more useable, more likeable, more productive computer at home compared to the provided computers at school or at work will lead to dissatisfaction and frustration. The first solution will be using the personal computers to solve educational and work problems. However, there will still be the embarrassment and loss of confidence in the CS department and CS work management that they are providing archaic, obsolete hardware and software. The forthcoming revolt is this: my own computer at home is better than the computer at school or work.