So what is the difference between a software engineer and computer scientist?

I'd say the scientist is about theory and algorithms while the engineer is about architecture and practical implementations.

My 2 cents.

The difference is the same as the difference between the arse and the printer. Scientists and printers are wasting more paper then arses and engineers.

Vladimir Vassilevsky

DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

OBones a écrit :

Yep. The computer scientist theoretically knows how to implement efficient computer-software architectures while the software engineer practically knows how to waste this.

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Thanks,
Fred.

Fred Bartoli a écrit :

Should have wrote: The computer scientist theoretically knows how to implement efficient computer-software architectures while the software engineer knows how to waste this practically.

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Thanks,
Fred.

A software engineer achieves stuff. A computer scientist just writes papers about it. ;)

pete

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pete@fenelon.com "it made about as much sense as a polythene sandwich"

Lets look at a job for a mechanical, electrical, civil and software engineer. Each must be familiar with the tools and components used in their field. Each must make a 'build or buy' decision based on survey of prior art, and each must estimate effort within an error bound that allows winning the contract, and delivering a product, whether it is a motor, a circuit board, a bridge, or a program. Problem was software wasnt an engineering discipline... more of an alchemist's lab... software engineering was invented to reign in programmers' estimates to something measureable, like lines of code (haha.... you'd really see my productivity explode if I got paid by lines of code...)

Or another question. What's the "science" bit in computer science?. john

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Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Still others maintain that software cannot be engineered at all."

John

Ah. That's how you know a field isn't really science: it includes "science" in its title.

For instance, compre "political science" and "social science" with "physics", "chemistry" or "astronomy".

1/2 :)

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I am covered with
                                  at               pure vegetable oil and I am
                               visi.com            writing a best seller!

When I was in school, they changed the name of gym class to physical education. Now my kids take exercise science.

"john jardine"

** Same sort of connection alchemy has to chemistry or astrology has to astronomy.

....... Phil

When I lived in Germany the contractor who did the interior of my business came in all upset one day. The new regs made him change his pay stub software. He wasn't allowed to call his painters "painter" anymore but had to change that to "Surface Coating Technician" or in German Oberflaechenbeschichtungstechniker.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Are you serious??! Now that is funny.

When *I* was at school (UK), I think they had just changed "cookery" class to "home economics".

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John Devereux

A computer scientist is someone that can't get a real job as an engineer.

Regards,

-- Mark McDougall, Engineer Virtual Logic Pty Ltd,

21-25 King St, Rockdale, 2216 Ph: +612-9599-3255 Fax: +612-9599-3266

"Operations Research" --> "Management Science".

[...]

Seeing as their "Major achievements" stub is a little sparse, out of the kindness of my heart I'll give 'em a LAW!. Scientists love LAWS. They can have (drum roll) ... --MOORES-- LAW. Fits in nicely :-) john

A software engineer writes programs for people who want programs. A computer scientist writes papers about programs for other computer scientists. Good programmers read papers written by good computer scientists, in the same way that good chemical engineers read paper written by academic chemists, and good electronic enginners read papers written by good physicists and chemists (amongst others).

The distiction is between a practitioner and an academic expert.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Do you think they really do? Sees to me that the academic/practitioner disconnect in programming is much wider than it is in the hard sciences... almost total, in fact.

In a few specific areas, like cryptography maybe, there's transfer.

John

Computer scientists use Linux, software engineers use windows?