Jeffry Smith wrote:
>
> Benjamin Scott wrote:
> >
> > On Tue, 16 May 2000, Jeffry Smith wrote:
> > > I'm reading a great book called "The Software Conspiracy." It's not
> > > about a true conspiracy, but about why so much software is bad...
> >
> > I've heard this comparison before, and there *are* differences between
> > software engineering and other kinds of engineering.
> >
> > First and foremost: In every other field, engineers are creating designs for
> > a product. The product may be an airplane, a building, or a metal box, but
> > the engineers are designing one. The designs are then used to build the
> > product.
> >
> > In the software engineering field, the design *is* the product.
>
> NO!! I've overseen software development. The code is NOT, repeat,
> NOT, the design. The design is the functional description of what the
> CODE does / will do. The code could be in C, Pascal, LISP, VB,
> whatever, and still perform the functions (ok, maybe not VB, but you
> get the idea).
>
I will agree that there is one difference: the production of the
product after 1st build: With standard engineering, you duplicate the
production (which is a seperate discipline - production engineering),
with SW, after the product is built, tested, & ready to ship, you
duplicate many times (if you're selling SW). Of course, if you're
selling solutions, each one may be different (think all the variations
that come down the line at a GM production plant: on the same line,
they change color, interior, engine, manual /automatic, radio, AC,
etc). Maybe it's not so different. If you're selling solutions.
Of course, with solutions, you want quality components that you can
test, ensure they work right, Have someone bang on them for stress
testing, interchange for different purposes, customize. Like having
the source code, rights to modify the code, & lots of people bangin on
it. Hm, think of any SW products with those three characteristics?
(yes, I know it's rhetorical on this list).
--
jeff smith
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thought for the day: In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration
day to such an extent as
to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the
speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00.
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