When is a Software Engineer Not a Software Engineer?

Written by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.


The title of “software engineer” has got to be amongrepparttar most highly abused inrepparttar 107599 corporate high-tech world. It’s also one ofrepparttar 107600 most popular.

And why not? It sounds a lot better than “computer programmer,” and it looks much better on one’s business card. Unfortunately, it’s often inaccurate. Engineering is, after all,repparttar 107601 application of sound technical principles to develop systems that are robust, efficient and elegant. I’ve found that a great many software engineers can develop working programs, but do little or no real engineering design.

Does this sound harsh? Perhaps, but I’ve also found it hard to deny. I’ve encountered very few software engineers, for example, who have clean, crisp and readable coding styles—an essential element of elegant software design. I’ve also encountered a preponderance of cryptically written functions, clumsy software abstractions and bizarre spaghetti code. To my dismay, I’ve discovered that even among computer science graduates, many reduce object-oriented programming torepparttar 107602 mere use of private data, public functions and object instantiations. It’s enough to break a teacher’s heart.

Now, I won’t go so far as to say that most programmers write spaghetti code. That would not be fair. However, I do think that relatively few programmers have a deep appreciation forrepparttar 107603 artistry of software development. That’s not to say that they’re ignorant of such things; not at all. Rather, it’s more thatrepparttar 107604 engineering aspects of elegant code design are all too often neglected.

I think this happens because modern programming tools have made proper code design seem like a nuisance. Inrepparttar 107605 early years of computing, people were forced to write out their software designs, pondering many fine details before they ever sat down in front ofrepparttar 107606 computer. Nowadays, with our fast compilers and interactive debugging systems, programmers often find it more convenient to simply sit down and start coding, with just a modicum of software design. Mind you, I do understand that this is sometimes more efficient—whenrepparttar 107607 programming task is fairly routine, for example. However, when such design-as-you-go software development becomes standard practice, then you haverepparttar 107608 makings of utter chaos.

Laptop computers and the PVP effect!

Written by Tom Fox


Roll over lumbering desktop computers,repparttar limber laptop is here, and it's here to stay! For a while now notebooks have outstripped their ageing desktop PC siblings, easily winningrepparttar 107598 gold medal inrepparttar 107599 computer sales olympics. We will illustrate howrepparttar 107600 PVP effect has contributed greatly torepparttar 107601 increase in popularity of notebook computers.

(P) Portability: Firstly it may be statingrepparttar 107602 obvious, but people buy laptops because they can take them anywhere. Office workers need no more be confined to their claustrophophic cubicles. Instead those statistic charts and data reports can be compiled on a train, inrepparttar 107603 comfort of an arm chair, or even onrepparttar 107604 beach! Portability equals flexibility, but alas this hasn't always beenrepparttar 107605 case. Todays ultra portable laptop computers have a come along way sincerepparttar 107606 bulky, sewing machine sized machines ofrepparttar 107607 late seventies and early eighties. Indeed one ofrepparttar 107608 first portable computers was built by IBM, and this machine (IBM 5100) weighed in at a hefty 50lbs! Today's corridor warriors would have trouble lugging that puppy from meeting to meeting, unless of course they subjected themselves to an intensive dose of steroids :)

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