Principles of software engineering environment design.

Abstract

The history of programming languages, operating systems and computer hardware is briefly reviewed. Then the general methodology of established engineering disciplines is examined. Software "engineering" is then examined in light of its history and by analogy with the general engineering methodology. Here, a critical difference between software engineering methods and those of other disciplines is revealed. Software design is not separated from its implementation nor is there an effective means to communicate a software design from a designer to an implementor. It is shown that without an analog to the engineering blueprint, software engineering is not, and cannot become, a true engineering discipline. In following the engineering analogy, twenty-one principles of software engineering environment design are put forth. These touch on technical, management and ergonomic issues. Finally, it is concluded that work on software engineering environments holds much more promise for improved productivity than the traditional approach of programming language design.