Legal traps in open source

[Robert Edwards]

On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 04:05 pm, Alex Satrapa wrote:
> On Wed, 2002-10-30 at 14:19, Michael Still wrote:
> > I think you have the skill triangle upside down. Are you really trying to
> > argue that Tridge / Rusty / Paulus / whoever is "less skilled" than
> > people who write Makefiles, and perl scripts?
>
> No.  Just arguing that Object Oriented design requires forethought.
>
> The ability to think ahead and plan what you're doing is what really
> separates C/C++ code monkeys from real programmers - but Sam has already
> pointed out to me that it's possible to write crap in Java too.
>
> The intent still remains however - "low-skilled/unskilled" workers are
> the code monkeys - they just crank out code based on the designs they've
> been given.
>
> The skilled workers think about what the design's going to look like,
> and employ their tools in the appropriate manner.
>
> In a regulated world such as Civil Engineering, you have to have proven
> your skill before you can handle the dangerous or complex tools.  Thus
> you have to have an operators certificate to run an excavator (or build
> a makefile), but any mug can drive a vibrating smooth drum compactor (or
> write code to do something, even if poorly).
>
> Alex

I think that one big difference between a generic Software engineer and almost 
any Civil engineer (there is really no such thing - all engineers are uncivil 
:-), is that almost anything a Civil engineer does will affect someone's very 
life - whether it be road building (do it wrong and someone will die), water 
treatment (ditto), bridge building, building structures, railways, air 
conditioning plant or whatever, peoples very lives rely on the Civil 
engineers to get it right.

Similarly with Mechanical engineers (cars, ships, trains, airplanes etc.).

With Software engineering, this is rarely the case (obviously in airliner and 
space shuttle design and medical equipment design etc., peoples lives do 
depend on the software guys getting it right). Mostly bad software leads to 
frustration, loss of money etc. but, generally, we still don't rely on 
computers in day to day life like we do on the stuff that Civil engineers do.

I guess a time is coming when automated vehicles capable of killing me will be 
roaming around the streets I need to cross to get to work and when that 
happens, I want to know that the software has been engineered to the very 
highest standard.

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.