Why is it OK for programmers to just code-up software, but it is not OK for architects to just build a house the same way? Why is it that only hobbyists hack-up circuits, but electrical engineers design them first?
The problem with programming is that writing small programs is TOO EASY. So programmers get the false impression that their skills at writing small programs scales. > The problem with the software industry is that a lot of software that > was intended for temporary use ends up lasting for years. The amount of software like this is huge. Shouldn't people have learned by now that any piece of 'useful' software will live on for years? > While Dijkstra's papers often acknowledge and take account of > the practical aspects of software development he is often quoted > by idealists as the posterchild of their cause. You can quote Parnas instead. He is a software engineer who has gotten deeply involved with very large pieces of software, and is an even louder proponent of 'software engineering' being a wholly different discipline than 'programming'. And he is certainly not an idealist -- his paper "A Rational Design Process: How and Why to Fake it" caused quite a stir amongst idealists! Jacques ------------------- Dr. Jacques Carette Assistant Professor, Computing and Software McMaster University ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PPIG Discuss List ([email protected]) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
