Re: Standard Library Interest?

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

Alexandre E. Kopilovitch wrote:

>>Yes, most good software engineers learned most of what they know from a
>>few good mentors (and I bless those that mentored me) and it would be
>>nice if it were a little more formal.
> 
> 
> I think I pointed at the same direction when I said about curriculum.
> And a guild of software engineers seems to be a move in opposite direction.

I obviously disagree.  If you have a guild, and in this country, the AMA 
for physicians is exactly that, it has a great deal of power.  But the 
philosophy and organization of a guild determines what that power is, 
and how it is used.  IMHO, a guild of software engineers would be like 
trying to herd cats if you tried to say, mandate a particular 
programming language.

But if the guild used its power to insist that safety critical software 
be certified as trustworthy by a guild journeyman or master, I think 
that no real software engineer would have a problem with that. Right now 
  professional engineers sign off on blueprints for large construction 
projects the same way.

We can argue fine lines about whether a guild is a better professional 
approach for software engineering or not.  I think it is.  I think that 
for programmers, the engineering model of educational programs and a 
professional society might be better when programming becomes a 
profession.  But for programmers, that is nowhere near to happening.  As 
for software engineering, in one sense a professional organization is 
overdue.  But efforts to base such a professional organization on 
academic credentials have failed when tried.  I think a guild would work.

More important, I would think that journeymen would have a "journey 
work"  that was free software--in other words, open to inspection by 
anyone--and a master work would be done the same way.  That way, I doubt 
that there would be any questions about whether or not someone really 
was a journeyman or master.  If you have doubts, look at the work posted 
on his website.  (Yes, someone could do work that was masterwork 
quality, but was classified or company proprietary.  Not a problem.  If 
they want to be a recognized journeyman or master, they would have to 
post other work to be judged.)

-- 

                                           Robert I. Eachus

100% Ada, no bugs--the only way to create software.