Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!ncar!gatech!hubcap!billwolf%hazel.cs.clemson.edu From: billwolf%hazel.cs.clemson.edu@hubcap.clemson.edu (William Thomas Wolfe, 2847 ) Newsgroups: comp.sw.components Subject: Re: Software engineering Message-ID: <6638@hubcap.clemson.edu> Date: 29 Sep 89 20:19:55 GMT References:Sender: news@hubcap.clemson.edu Reply-To: billwolf%hazel.cs.clemson.edu@hubcap.clemson.edu Lines: 19 From ted@nmsu.edu (Ted Dunning): > [playing as a means of "education"] > i would hope that the `software engineering philosophy' does not > preclude self-education. Of course not. The point is that engineering and "playing" are two entirely different processes. To learn about a new tool, one first studies the tool's capabilities and then uses the tool in some engineering endeavor (or, alternatively, a formal training exercise which someone has designed). A tool is not, and should not be viewed as, an entertainment mechanism. The engineer's psychic rewards come from having engineered a superb product, on time and under budget. These are tied to the objectives, and not to the means of getting there. Bill Wolfe, wtwolfe@hubcap.clemson.edu