> has been very interesting. It illustrates the fact that software > engineering remains very much a craft. As with all crafts, is heavily > influenced by the preferences (style if you will) of the individual > artisan. There are very few 'right or wrong' answers here.
Oops, you hit a hot button there. :-) <RANT> I don't think the multitude of styles or tools is any different to any other engineering discipline and cerainly doesn't indicate any more craft status than the fact that different electrical engineers have different preferences of AVO meter type (analogue, digital, electronic, magnetic etc - and most use several). Chosing the right tool for the job is just as much part of the skill of the engineer as much as the artisan. Where there may be a difference is that the engineer may specify the tools (and definitely the materials) during the design process, the artisan may choose the tools and materials in an ad-hoc manner as the work progresses. The engineer's goals are consistency and economy whereas the artisans goals are "quality(*)" and individuality. (*)Engineers strive for quality too, but a pre-determined measure of quality not the abstract concept of 'fine-ness' that craftsmen generally aim for. Software engineering, when practiced as engineering, is very little different to other branches of engineering, unfortunately it is, for various reasons, not often practiced as an enginering disipline but as a craft. But the SE label is applied regardless! As in other engineering disciplines it will take a large disaster wiith huge loss of human life(*) due to badly designed software to force the industry to adopt the kind of rigour demanded oin other fields. It is entirely possible now, it's just not practiced! (*)And even then only when that loss of life is accompanied by correspondingly large insurance claims - or is that too cynical? We'll find out fairly soon I'm sure... </RANT> Alan G. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
