Xref: utzoo comp.edu:2267 comp.lang.pascal:1823
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!sun-barr!rutgers!att!alberta!ubc-cs!faculty.cs.ubc.ca!manis
From: manis@faculty.cs.ubc.ca (Vincent Manis)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: CS-1
Keywords: beginning computer science course
Message-ID: <2016@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Date: 12 May 89 05:17:57 GMT
References: <2130@iitmax.IIT.EDU> <2394@brahma.cs.hw.ac.uk> <206@psgdc> <1085@lafcol.UUCP> <1866@aucs.UUCP> <23855@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Sender: news@cs.ubc.ca
Reply-To: manis@faculty.cs.ubc.ca (Vincent Manis)
Organization: Smurf Gang (University of British Columbia at Kitezh)
Lines: 41

In article <23855@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> kwan@cs.ucla.edu (Edmund Kwan) writes:
>Coding without understanding the problem & its solution(s) (Code and Fix 
>Approach) is a no-no according to my Software Engineering class.  We should
>definitely not teach beginning programmers to hack out a program in Pascal
>rather than to design a solution and then implement it in Pascal.

Having taught both, I'm not entirely sure that Software Engineering and
Computer Science are the same thing. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the
reverse is true.

Software engineering, like all forms of engineering, relies upon the
application of fairly well-understood principles to problems. The goal is to
produce something which works, with as little uncertainty as possible. 
Whether it's a bridge or a program, we want a reliable product, as close
to budget and deadline as possible. (Incidentally, it has always amazed me 
how people will hire `programmers' who know nothing about software design,
but would rather like to learn. I'd never hire an architect or a lawyer that
way...) 

Introductory computer science is much more of a laboratory science. Students
are supposed to learn concepts, primarily by experimentation. The goal is
not the program, but the increased understanding of the subject. Naturally,
students will be encouraged to program well; but, then, one of the reasons
I got out of chemistry was my tendency to break anything made out of glass.

There is no claim that `science' is better than `engineering' here. However,
I don't think it makes sense to teach engineering prior to teaching sound
science.

A propos this topic, if you haven't already done so, read the `ACM Task
Force on the Core of Computer Science' report in the January CACM. It will
change your paradigm of computer science completely. 
____________  Vincent Manis                    | manis@cs.ubc.ca
___ \  _____  The Invisible City of Kitezh     | manis@cs.ubc.cdn
____ \  ____  Department of Computer Science   | manis%cs.ubc@relay.cs.net
___  /\  ___  University of British Columbia   | uunet!ubc-cs!manis
__  /  \  __  Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1W5    | (604) 228-2394
_  / __ \  _ 
____________  "I'm not making this up, you know!" -- Anna Russell