CSCI 5828

Professor Anderson,

I think there is some confusion in our profession regarding the distinction between a programmer and a software engineer. The Ghezzi textbook differentiates the two as "programming-in-the-small" vs. "programming-in-the-large." The programmer works in a "personal," small scope fashion with the end result being manageable by a single person. The software engineer takes on the added responsibility of building a complex system; working in a team environment, moving among levels of abstraction, etc.

I feel Ghezzi's clarification is good, however I question whether we are yet worthy of the engineer designation considering how today's software simply does not meet Ghezzi's representative qualities. Perhaps when the day comes when consumers reject software for not meeting these qualities, we will have reached the level of true engineering.

Marcus England