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Construction has a standardized set of steps, which when followed will reliably produce a desired outcome. Programming has no such thing because it it can not,
by rapsey 4y ago
Construction has a standardized set of steps, which when followed will reliably produce a desired outcome. Programming has no such thing because it it can not, it is a fundamentally different discipline that is unlike any other that we call engineering. Negligence is not relevant.
- jcranmer 4y agoCan you give an example of what you think one of these "standardized set of steps" in construction is? My suspicion is that, if you start trying to get specific, you can actually find standardized steps at the same level of abstraction in programming. But since construction superficially looks like "stamp out multiple copies of the same thing" whereas programming is superficially "everything is its own special sauce," people try comparing them at different levels of abstraction.
- drpyser22 4y agoProgramming certainly can follow standardized design and implementation methodologies. I don't think there is anything fundamental about software engineering that prevents that. It doesn't usually happen because there's not enough agreement on all levels of what is the best methodology. Software engineering is young and still sees significant evolution. Principles of software design and engineering are largely agreed upon and applied, but not in a single, concrete and consistent standard because experts still disagree too much on the specifics of applying those principles, and on other controversial principles. And of course there is often no regulations that would require and guarantee the application of such a standard, and no standardized QA by customers.