I think software engineering, similar to other engineering disciplines, is applied computer science. It means taking the theory (algorithm, data structure, etc)

I think software engineering, similar to other engineering disciplines, is applied computer science. It means taking the theory (algorithm, data structure, etc) and create a product (software) that does useful things in the real world. This means the software have to perform functions needed by its users, under real world constraints (time, space, power, cost) while being sufficiently robust to handle noisy inputs and variances. This also means the user will play a large role in driving the evolution and direction of the software and that the scope of software engineering encompassing beyond the theory but to the entire lifecycle of he software product including development, deployment, support, and iterative improvement.