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From: coggins@coggins.cs.unc.edu (Dr. James Coggins)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.c++
Subject: "Expertise"
Message-ID: <7531@thorin.cs.unc.edu>
Date: 31 Mar 89 14:01:52 GMT
References: <354@cbnewsc.ATT.COM> <WINDLEY.89Mar30143846@Self.cheetah.ucdavis.edu>
Sender: news@thorin.cs.unc.edu
Reply-To: coggins@coggins.UUCP (Dr. James Coggins)
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Organization: University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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In article <WINDLEY.89Mar30143846@Self.cheetah.ucdavis.edu> windley@cheetah.ucdavis.edu (Phil Windley/20000000) writes:
>
>>In article <354@cbnewsc.ATT.COM> isaac@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (isaac.j.champagne) writes:
>>
>>   So what are some good texts that cover the fundamentals of programming?
>>   I'm particularly interested in:
>>	   1.A text with more examples than confusing computer science
>>	     theory (preferably w/examples in C)
>>	   2.How about some good background in data structures?
>>	   3.How about programming paradigms? It seems like the "how to"
>>	     of programming may be more important than lots of
>>	     theories.
>>
>...
>That said, I think you're missing the point.  You seem to think that you
>can be a good programmer without a funcdamental understanding of what's
>going on.  This is a serious mistake.
>
>If you think that you can DESIGN
>programs without the kind of important background knowledge that theory
>provides then you're in for a rude awakening.  
>--
>Phil Windley                          |  windley@iris.ucdavis.edu

Good answer, Phil.

I have a new question, and maybe you folks can fill in more 
(even more irritating) examples.

Why does...

...anyone who has written a program (in BASIC, say)
   think he's a computer scientist?

...anyone who knows FORTRAN
   think he knows all he needs to know about programming?

...anyone who has written a program more than one page long
   think he's a software engineer?

...anyone who reads Dr. Dobbs and Byte
   think he's keeping up with the latest developments in computer science?

...anyone who has written a user interface on a bit-mapped display
   think he's an interface design expert?

...anyone who has implemented a client's user interface ideas
   think he's an interviewer?

...anyone who has modified a user interface based on usage experience
   think he's a perceptual psychologist?

...anyone who has written something in an "expert system shell"
   think he's an AI researcher?

...anyone who has done "knowledge engineering" 
   think he's an interviewer, psychologist, and software engineer?

...anyone who has written three functions to manipulate a single structure
   think he's an object-oriented programmer?

...anyone who has run an edge detection program
   think he's a computer vision expert?

...anyone who can't use LISP techniques in C++
   think he's a language designer?

...anyone who has an argument over some social issue
   think he's a political commentator?

...anyone who is doing something he heard somebody else doing
   think he's using generally accepted methods from the discipline?

...anyone who is using generally accepted methods from his discipline
   think he's doing the right thing?

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Dr. James M. Coggins          coggins@cs.unc.edu
Computer Science Department      QUESTION
UNC-Chapel Hill                CONVENTIONAL
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3175       "WISDOM"
and NASA Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Science
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