Software Engineering for Students A Programming Approach

402 Chapter 32 ■ Conclusion
• Exercises
32.1 Compare and contrast the following two approaches to software development:
1. placing trust in individual skills
2. relying on systematic methods.
32.2 Compare and contrast the following approaches to software reuse:
■ Unix filters
■ object-oriented classes.
32.3 “Programming is easy.” Discuss.
32.4 “Software engineering is just programming, and programming is just hacking.”
Discuss.
32.5 “The scrutiny of software development methods, together with the imposition of standards
and procedures for quality assurance has taken all the fun out of it.” Discuss.
32.6 “The tasks involved in software engineering are going to dramatically change over the
next five to ten years. In particular, conventional programming will no longer exist.”
Discuss.
32.7 Predict the future of software engineering.
Further reading
•Ed Yourdon is one of the gurus of software development. In this book he gives a very
readable account of the problems with software development today. The book continues
by giving a survey of the possible remedies for the problems. It’s altogether
a very readable book, free of technicalities and free with opinions. The title reflects
the author’s opinion that American programmers are under threat from competition
from programmers in Asia – who are paid less, but are better! Edward Yourdon,
Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, PTR Prentice Hall, 1993.
The sequel to Decline and Fall, which is much more optimistic about the future of the
American programmer, provided that they take the initiative and learn about new
technologies, like Java: Edward Yourdon, Rise and Resurrection of the American
Programmer, PTR Prentice Hall, 1995.
A possible future for software development is described in the following reference.
Have the predictions turned out to be correct? A.J. Wassermann, The future of programming,
Communications of the ACM, 25(3) (March 1982).