David Eddy wrote:
> Duane -
>
> On Feb 23, 2010, at 2:45 PM, Duane Nickull wrote:
>
> It comes down to the fact that code is art.
>
> Agreed.
>
> I cringe whenever I hear "software engineer" particularly when
> someone delivers it with a straight face.
>
> (01)
I lost Jeffrey Schiffel's email, but I support his position. I hope
this is a troll.
I cringe whenever I meet a programmer who thinks he is an artist. (02)
A program is a machine. People rely on it to do some part of their
business.
Do you want to fly across the country on an aircraft built by an artist?
Do you want the ABS in your car to be an artwork?
Do you want the life support system in the ICU to be art? (03)
The reason why we trust engineers to make ABS's and aircraft is that
they have a discipline that gives the company the willingness to provide
a warranty and accept legal liability. As long as programmers think
they are artists, you will get the Microsoft form of warranty -- caveat
emptor. (04)
The "artist" view of software engineering should have vanished in 1980.
The software in automobiles and aircraft, manufacturing controllers,
train controllers and life support systems has been engineered since
1975, and the software in network servers has been engineered since
1990. But for some reason, many people still trust their business to
artworks, and pay annual fees for repainting/resculpting them. This
nonsense has got to stop. (05)
-Ed (06)
P.S. Is that short enough for Azamat? (07)
--
Edward J. Barkmeyer Email: edbark@xxxxxxxx
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Manufacturing Systems Integration Division
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8263 Tel: +1 301-975-3528
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8263 FAX: +1 301-975-4694 (08)
"The opinions expressed above do not reflect consensus of NIST,
and have not been reviewed by any Government authority." (09)
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