Re: Software Engineering vs. Hacking (was Re:

Re: Software Engineering vs. Hacking (was Re:

[howland.reston.ans.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!milano!pho]

In article 93Apr5112034@spectre.mitre.org, eachus@spectre.mitre.org (Robert I. 
Eachus) writes:
>
>   I used to be a hacker, now I am a software engineer...
>ROBUSTNESS and quality are not the terms I would use to describe code
>written by hackers.  The hacker concept of quality emphasizes
>cleverness AND elegance.  Kludgeware is considered bad, but a (single)
>kludge used with flair is considered high art.  Software engineers are
>more concerned with design.  If the overall design is good, low level
>violations of abstraction are considered acceptable if they are needed
>to implement the design, and bad otherwise.

[much eloquent, good stuff deleted]

Thank you Robert for your extremely well put differentiation between a good
software engineer and a hacker.  Unfortunately, I suspect you will soon hear
directly from Messr. Ketcham, when he attempts to proseletize you to his
teachings.

---
Mark A. Breland - Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC)
Ada Fault Tolerance                               | voice:    (512) 338-3509
3500 West Balcones Center Drive                   | FAX:      (512) 338-3900
Austin, Texas 78759-6509   USA                    | internet: breland@mcc.com