[plt-scheme] Re: More pedagogic stuff

On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 12:38 PM, David Einstein <deinst at gmail.com> wrote:
> I do not think that programming per se is or needs to be a particularly
> difficult endeavor.  With a scant few exceptions, we are not engineers or
> scientists,

But programming IS a difficult endeavor. It requires careful study and
a disciplined approach to development. Furthermore, livelihoods and,
sometimes, lives depend on the correct functioning of software. I
would say that we are most certainly engineers AND scientists. Just
like engineers and scientists, we must be reasonably sure that the
fruits of our labor are sound, efficient, and get the job done. After
all, no one wants a bridge that collapses, is made of gold, needs
maintenance every week, or does not reach the other side of the river
it is suppossed to cross. Likewise, no one wants software that
crashes, that unnecessarily consumes too much memory or time, that
needs to constantly be updated, or does not fully solve the problem it
is intended to solve.

Does not a textbook, like HtDP, clearly bring home the point that
there is a disciplined and methodical approach to programming? To me
that says science and engineering.

Marco