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Thread: Software Engineering is it really Engineering

  1. #1
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    Software Engineering is it really Engineering

    Date: Sunday, January 23, 2003

    Software Engineering is it really Engineering

    By
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    --W0lverine--
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    Software Engineering is a field of computer science that deals with the building of software system that are so large, so complex that they are built by team a teams of engineers. Parnas +AFs-1987+AF0- has defined software as +ACI-multi-person construction of multi-version software+ACI- this definition i think captures the essence of software engineering and differentiate it form programming. The term software engineering was coined in late 1960's when computers were becoming cheaper and more common and more people stared using them. It was at that time +ACI-programming+ACI- attained the status of profession and truly large system were attempted commercially. One of the best documented of these was the OS 360 operating System for the IBM 360 computer family. It was at that time realized that building large projects is entirely different from building small personal project. The term +ACI-Software Engineering+ACI- was invented at that time.

    It was discovered that building a large software system is not merely putting the computer instruction together but understanding the problem first, because if we do not fully understand what the problem is we will not be able to solve it. Now a lot of time was spent on gathering data about the system, communicating with the persons involved. It was finally thought that building a software should be approached in the same way engineers had built other complex systems such as bridges, ships, airplanes etc. the point is that software system is a complex product and the building of it is an engineers job. The engineering approach required management, organization, tools, theories, methodologies and technique, regardless of the entities to be engineered.

    Software engineering has made significant progress since 1960s. There are standard techniques that are used in the field. But the field is far from achieving the status of classical engineering disciplines. There are many areas where informal techniques are taught and practiced. There are no specific and generally accepted methods even for specifying what a software system should do. The early versions still contain loads of bugs in it and even after a lot of patching and debugging the new versions still contains new bugs. Every software product comes with a disclaimer saying the company is not responsible for any losses caused due to losses caused by the use of the software product. Now in engineering discipline if a building or a bridge build by a civil engineer collapses due to faulty design isn't the engineer held responsible and put behind bars, so why when a software crashes due to faulty design the software engineer is let free. so isn't it that the software field is not relay a engineering discipline

  2. #2
    nice point u made there but in other engineering diciplines the engineer is eqipped with tools and mathematical calculations
    equations there are standazised tools and procedures but still a software engineer has to mostly rely on his experience and intutions.

  3. #3
    but still a software engineer has to mostly rely on his experience and intutions
    Yeah, but I don't think people would buy it/understand if we all called ourselves "Software Scientist" - which is what it more equally compairs too...

    BTW nice post w0lverine,

    RRP

  4. #4
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    You make some good points. Even at my University, the CSE (Computer Science Engineering--Design and program a computer) is not considered a true Engineering major. :-)
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    There is a ghost in the machine, and he is my friend.

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    Thanks guys

  6. #6
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    the word engineering in software engineering is quite misleading either it should be removed of software developres should be held responsible for their work like in other enginerring diciplines

  7. #7
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    software engineering is the process of software development. it is an engineering disipline concerned with all aspects of software such as methods, theories and tools that are used for professional software development.

    because software systems are not physical systems that have physical form, they are abstract, software engineering and hence the software development process is not constrained by physical laws or the manufactoring process.

    software engineering is not a field of computer science. it is a completely seperate self contained disipline. computer science is concerned with theory and fundamentals, software engineering is concerned with the practicalities of developing and delivering useful software products. computer science theories are currently insufficient to act as a complete underpinning for software engineering.
    Hmm...theres something a little peculiar here. Oh i see what it is! the sentence is talking about itself! do you see that? what do you mean? sentences can\'t talk! No, but they REFER to things, and this one refers directly-unambigeously-unmistakably-to the very sentence which it is!

  8. #8
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    There are no specific and generally accepted methods even for specifying what a software system should do.
    you can't specify what your system should do until you find someone that wants a system build. and if there was already a system in existence that did the job they wouldn't need it to be built for them. so the point is, you are not going to build a system until you know what the person you are building it for wants.

    most people don't have a clue what they want.

    especially people who want something but aren't exactly sure. they are the people who really have no clue. they are not techically minded so it is common for communication problems to occur between the customer and the engineers.

    thats why there is, not one, but numerous specific and generally accepted methods for gathering this information and verfying it. requirements definition, requirements specification and the software specification not to mention use case diagrams (nice 'ickle pictograms for the non-technical buisness type people to understand whats going on so they can give orders ... feckers) are a good example of specific, generally-accepted documents that are used in the ``methods even for specifying what a software system should do'' area of software engineering. but the customer must know what they want in advance, naturally.
    Hmm...theres something a little peculiar here. Oh i see what it is! the sentence is talking about itself! do you see that? what do you mean? sentences can\'t talk! No, but they REFER to things, and this one refers directly-unambigeously-unmistakably-to the very sentence which it is!

  9. #9
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    Another thing that can be misleading is the swastika which was adopted by the germans... it was originallly a sign of forces comeing together as one, peace, the universe is one, blah blah blah... it has many other meanings. Ummm which was then edited and adopted by nazis and also was the insparation to many communist but like I said its true form & meanings were edited so many times... who knows.

    The orignial swastika was more round shaped and is probably thousands of years older than the days of Hitler... but from the shape and color it does appear that w0lverine may be becomeing very "political" though.

  10. #10
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    Swastica has been there hundred of years before hitler or nazies. In hindu culture swastica is a symbol of pease and good luck it is drawsn in front of every house or whenever a new thing is stared . many other religions suck sikhism, bhuddsis, janism swastica has spritiual importance

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