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I don't disagree except that software is different to building bridges because once you build the bridge, it's a bridge and you're done. Software engineering i

I don't disagree except that software is different to building bridges because once you build the bridge, it's a bridge and you're done. Software engineering is like deciding after you built the bridge that it needs to now be able to open. Oh and the bridge is now busy and used heavily so we can't allow for any downtime while you rebuild the bridge to open. And as much as we hope for standards so everything cookie cutter, there are idiosyncracies all over the place so no project is ever really the same. These days I think of software more like writing fiction than engineering

doug_durham 1y ago
Great points. The only reason that Civil Engineering isn't like software engineering is because of cost and legal regulations. It costs only labor to change software. If there were robotic workers and plentiful energy and materials you'd better believe that bridges would be getting refactored all of the time. Also bridges are never done. They are continually inspected and refurbished. Every bridge you build has an on-going cost. Just like software.