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IMHO, there is no Software Engineering. There is only Computer Science. There is none of the discipline that comes from engineering, and only the messiness that

IMHO, there is no Software Engineering. There is only Computer Science. There is none of the discipline that comes from engineering, and only the messiness that comes from science. The heroes in software are Computer Scientists and everyone wants to be a Computer Scientist. No one wants to be a Software Engineer. It isn't even clear to me that Software Engineering exists in a clearly defined way. Maybe a manager or director imposes their will on a group somewhere and engineering is done.

bassman9000 9y ago
And not even Computer Science, just Programming. Maybe here at HN there's a will to understand why the algos are like that, or when to choose a given data structure. But most workers in this industry are content with writing code, seeing it compile, and pass it to the next person in the chain. Source: half assed personal opinion base in 10+ years experience
jclulow 9y ago
This is simply untrue. There _are_ people who want to be software engineers -- I'm one of them! The field is still young, but there are those of us who strive to apply the rigour seen in other engineering disciplines to the work in which we engage today. We seek to balance competing demands of quality, features, and schedule. Though I get to produce programs when it makes sense, I spend a lot more time writing prose and communicating with others inside and outside the immediate engineering team in which I work. I also spend a lot of time chasing down problems in existing software; each new failure provides an opportunity to improve our overall practice. Mistakes can and will always happen; negligence must not. To suggest that there isn't, or cannot be software engineering is maddeningly self-defeating.
rdiddly 9y ago
An engineer is just an ingéneur - someone who applies ingenuity.
- tome 9y ago
  * ingénieur
  - rdiddly 9y ago
    Oops-a-daisy.
quickben 9y ago
Arguing semantics is usually a waste of everybody's time.

bassman9000 9y ago

And not even Computer Science, just Programming. Maybe here at HN there's a will to understand why the algos are like that, or when to choose a given data structure. But most workers in this industry are content with writing code, seeing it compile, and pass it to the next person in the chain. Source: half assed personal opinion base in 10+ years experience

jclulow 9y ago

This is simply untrue. There _are_ people who want to be software engineers -- I'm one of them! The field is still young, but there are those of us who strive to apply the rigour seen in other engineering disciplines to the work in which we engage today. We seek to balance competing demands of quality, features, and schedule. Though I get to produce programs when it makes sense, I spend a lot more time writing prose and communicating with others inside and outside the immediate engineering team in which I work. I also spend a lot of time chasing down problems in existing software; each new failure provides an opportunity to improve our overall practice. Mistakes can and will always happen; negligence must not. To suggest that there isn't, or cannot be software engineering is maddeningly self-defeating.

rdiddly 9y ago

An engineer is just an ingéneur - someone who applies ingenuity.

tome 9y ago
* ingénieur
- rdiddly 9y ago
  Oops-a-daisy.

quickben 9y ago

Arguing semantics is usually a waste of everybody's time.