P.L. Nico, C.S. Turner, and T.J. Kearns (USA)
: Software Engineering, Software Development, De-skill, Programmer
As the field of software development becomes more profes sionalized, and the software development process becomes more formalized, there is a growing belief that the job of the front-line programmer is becoming--or must become, out of economic necessity--de-skilled. This belief is predicated on the assumption that new principles, processes, and tools have made the modern pro grammer's job simpler than that of his predecessors, how ever, this is not necessarily so. In this paper we show that essential aspects of the programming activity involve skills that have not been eliminated by progress in the field. The programmer's task does evolve with new tools and meth ods, but the essential skill--making rational tradeoffs in the presence of an abstract model--remains.
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