On Thu, 26 Nov 2015 13:42:07 +0000
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:29:15 on Thu, 26 Nov
2015, d remarked:
"Software engineering" is another recent phrase. Its what used to be known
as programming but I guess that didn't have enough gravitas for some people.
Long ago there were "Systems analysts" who drew up the specifications
for what they thought needed doing, and programmers were just the
"brickies" putting it together.
Usually the specs were pretty high level though. The programmers still had
to fill in between the lines and then figure out how to get the machine to
do it.
There's a whole spectrum of different complexities of programming, but
the closer you get to the metal the more you need to understand the
engineering function you are trying to provide.
Perhaps it depends on the sphere. I would hope the people writing the software
for fly by wire have a bit more than just on the job training. OTOH I know
someone who worked in heavy machine tool programming - quite dangerous if it
goes wrong - and his only qualification was a standard BSc. The rest was on the
job.
--
Spud