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So the article contends that software doesn't play critical role in society. Apparently the author doesnt know that most power plants, nuclear or even hydroelec

So the article contends that software doesn't play critical role in society. Apparently the author doesnt know that most power plants, nuclear or even hydroelectric are run by software, not to mention a few small things like medical equipment. Oh and airplanes use sofware too.... wait software is in almost all critical engineering projects. Maybe the author should do more research.

liothen 7y ago
Also software powers your phone and more importantly the autocorrect feature.
- ahaferburg 7y ago
  You can edit your posts, you know. Or delete them.
  - liothen 7y ago
    i was using an iphone app at the time that didn't provide the functionality.
ncmncm 7y ago
I see that you maybe skimmed it a little too fast. It is because software plays a critical role in society that it needs to be done by engineers; but it largely isn't, and it shows.
- liothen 7y ago
  With most engineering there are standards and math is the main constant. Software is more akin to baking you know what to make but how you make it will differ (largely because of different programing languages) as does the taste of the intended customer.
- tluyben2 7y ago
  It definitely shows: in my uni I had a professor (pupil of Dijkstra) who we thought was very elitist (not so weird considering his pedigree) ; he said the world will be a bad place if we continue the bad software practices and was all for allowing (!) non engineers to make games and ‘fun things’ but not anything that actually does anything that could lose money or health if done badly. I have not spoken with him for a while but he must be crying every night about the JS uprising. 20+ years further, I am starting to agree with many of his points.
airbreather 7y ago
Yep, and most of those applications have a certification attached, "Functional Safety Engineer", which most of of Silicon Valley don't seem to know exists. It is a way of archtitecting systems building software, sometimes quite trivial in terms of "code lines" to an attempted known quality which suits the consequences of failing. You generally only use it when the result will be litigation around fatalities or permanently disabling injuries, so this just proves the whole point - some software needs engineering, some software is better to produce as quickly as possible and see where it goes.

liothen 7y ago

Also software powers your phone and more importantly the autocorrect feature.

ahaferburg 7y ago
You can edit your posts, you know. Or delete them.
- liothen 7y ago
  i was using an iphone app at the time that didn't provide the functionality.

ncmncm 7y ago

I see that you maybe skimmed it a little too fast. It is because software plays a critical role in society that it needs to be done by engineers; but it largely isn't, and it shows.

liothen 7y ago
With most engineering there are standards and math is the main constant. Software is more akin to baking you know what to make but how you make it will differ (largely because of different programing languages) as does the taste of the intended customer.
tluyben2 7y ago
It definitely shows: in my uni I had a professor (pupil of Dijkstra) who we thought was very elitist (not so weird considering his pedigree) ; he said the world will be a bad place if we continue the bad software practices and was all for allowing (!) non engineers to make games and ‘fun things’ but not anything that actually does anything that could lose money or health if done badly. I have not spoken with him for a while but he must be crying every night about the JS uprising. 20+ years further, I am starting to agree with many of his points.

airbreather 7y ago

Yep, and most of those applications have a certification attached, "Functional Safety Engineer", which most of of Silicon Valley don't seem to know exists. It is a way of archtitecting systems building software, sometimes quite trivial in terms of "code lines" to an attempted known quality which suits the consequences of failing. You generally only use it when the result will be litigation around fatalities or permanently disabling injuries, so this just proves the whole point - some software needs engineering, some software is better to produce as quickly as possible and see where it goes.