Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!hubcap!billwolf
From: billwolf@hubcap.clemson.edu (William Thomas Wolfe,2847,)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Software Engineering & Ada
Message-ID: <4390@hubcap.UUCP>
Date: 10 Feb 89 17:56:47 GMT
References: <69504@ti-csl.csc.ti.com>
Sender: news@hubcap.UUCP
Reply-To: wtwolfe@hubcap.clemson.edu
Lines: 43

From myjak@home.csc.ti.com (Michael Myjak):
> 
> Bill then goes on to make an incorrect statement:
>>   It DOES cover: [...]
>>   Modern Programming Language Features (Ada) ...
> 
> This is incorrect because Software Engineering is independent of, and
> in no way related to a *particular* language, its features, or its
> associated environment. While it is true that some languages lend
> themselves to software engineering techniques better than other
> languages do, software engineering and ADA are mutually exclusive.

    I'm curious as to how a statement of fact is "incorrect"; I stated
    that the text "Software Engineering Concepts", by Richard Fairley 
    (of the now-defunct Wang Institute of Software Engineering), has as 
    one of its chapters "Modern Programming Language Features" (Chapter 
    7), which consists largely of an analysis of the features of Ada, 
    which is presented as a "truly impressive" modern programming language.
    An example: "Software engineering will remain a craft, and will not 
    become a true technological discipline, until we are able to develop 
    modular, building-block software.  Modern programming languages such 
    as Ada have the goal of providing the necessary tools for development of
    reuseable software components through features such as those discussed
    in this chapter."  

    And what features are they discussing?  Why, "Type checking rules, 
    separate compilation, user-defined data types, data abstraction, 
    generics, scope rules, exception handling, and concurrency mechanisms 
    are discussed in the following sections."  Can you guess which language 
    reference manual that was lifted straight out of?   

    We use both Pressman's text (whose definition of software engineering
    you cited) and Fairley's text in our undergraduate software engineering
    course.  One of the nice things about Fairley's text is that it also
    presents "the technology of software engineering".

    Fairley states that "Critics of Ada have the responsibility to study
    the characteristics of the intended application area and propose
    alternatives that account for those characteristics.  In this manner,
    the technology of software engineering will evolve."  


    Bill Wolfe, wtwolfe@hubcap.clemson.edu