Comments on: The Arc of Engineering http://brucefwebster.com/2008/05/21/the-arc-of-engineering/ Making IT work since 1974. Sun, 13 May 2012 15:46:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: npacemo http://brucefwebster.com/2008/05/21/the-arc-of-engineering/comment-page-1/#comment-111 npacemo Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:47:30 +0000 http://brucefwebster.com/?p=41#comment-111 This arc definitely exists - some authors refer to it as software deterioration - a synonym of rotting, different in meaning from the mechanical erosion. I would rather think of it as a natural property of information, just like the entropy in the Universe. How can you fight a thing like this? Alan Kay wrote a proposal about reinventing the programming - http://irbseminars.intel-research.net/AlanKayNSF.pdf The idea is to use small number of very powerful concepts with the help of which a programmer can express solutions and knowledge domains briefly in a self explanatory and self learning way, thus reducing the size of the code-base, but also complexity and difficulties introduced by changes in system requirements - difficulties like emergence of contradictory elements in the knowledge domain. While I desire with all my heart for such reinvention of programming to come true, I really doubt that even this can reverse software deterioration. Anyway, you gave really nice samples of concrete engineering arcs! This arc definitely exists – some authors refer to it as software deterioration – a synonym of rotting, different in meaning from the mechanical erosion. I would rather think of it as a natural property of information, just like the entropy in the Universe. How can you fight a thing like this?
Alan Kay wrote a proposal about reinventing the programming – http://irbseminars.intel-research.net/AlanKayNSF.pdf
The idea is to use small number of very powerful concepts with the help of which a programmer can express solutions and knowledge domains briefly in a self explanatory and self learning way, thus reducing the size of the code-base, but also complexity and difficulties introduced by changes in system requirements – difficulties like emergence of contradictory elements in the knowledge domain.
While I desire with all my heart for such reinvention of programming to come true, I really doubt that even this can reverse software deterioration.

Anyway, you gave really nice samples of concrete engineering arcs!

]]>