Technology Assessment of Software Engineering
Abstract
History shows that engineering evolves from craft and commercial exploitation and that it requires scientific foundations. Science is especially important when natural intuitions about phenomena are weak. For software engineering, the technical basis is computer science. Characteristics of an engineering practice include iteration between formal analysis and design, heavy use of earlier designs, tradeoffs between alternatives, handbooks and manuals, pragmatic approaches to being cost-effective, and significant economic concerns. The history of software engineering practices precedes the coining of the term 'Software Engineering' in that software was being developed as soon as there were stored program computers. Commercial software development can be described in stages from 'programming-any-which-way' (early 60's) through 'programming-in- the-small' (early 70's) to 'programming-in-the-large' (early 80's). Programming- any-which-way focused on mnemonics, precise use of prose, emphasis on small programs, representing structure - both symbolic information and numeric information - and gaining an elementary understanding of control. (RRH)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA216943