[Discuss] Programming vs Engineering

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On 01/22/2012 08:00 AM, Mark Woodward wrote:
> In some ways we are to blame. We software engineers have not taken our
> profession seriously. We have not created and/or joined the
> professional organizations, like doctors, lawyers, electricians, and
> pipe-fitters, to define and protect our profession.
I would agree to some extent. There was an organization many years ago
that attempted this, but never made any headway. While certainly doctors
need to be licensed to practice, lawyers, electricians, and others do
not need a license if they work inside a company. But if they are
employed to where they use their profession to provide a service they
need to be licensed. When you hire a law firm, you expect that the
lawyers you deal with are fully licensed and have passed the bar.
>
> What has happened, sadly, is that we have a profession in which there
> are no standards and any newbe can come along create a new programming
> language because he or she did not like the existing language. If we
> are lucky, it looks something like previous languages, but this is not
> always the case. We don't steadily improve the tools of our craft, we
> destroy them and rebuild them new each and every time.
Agreed to some extent.
>
> How many programming languages and environments are needed? How many
> operating systems? If you look at electricians, they have a whole set
> of regulations about wire, connectors, methodologies, etc. Do we?
> Hell, if we compared ourselves to plumbers, we would re-invent the
> pipe for each job. 


-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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