Sunday, November 4, 2007

How Much Ownership do Software Makers Take?

Cars have been recalled and corrected by the manufacturers, drug companies have paid through the nose, chemical companies have paid for their accidents, doctors get sued, airlines also pay when things go wrong. However software makers absolve themselves of any losses that may arise due the use of the software. This is very strange that there is no redressal for consumers who lose because of software.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Is the knowledge of software developers shallow?

In the earlier days, software was developed using only a single language, the language stayed stable for 4-5 years, generally used a procedural paradigm, the language did not have too many constructs, so it was possible to master the language in a reasonable time. Today with multi tier applications the number of languages is increasing, with new versions coming out in shorter time frames, a person probably has to know three to four languages to write an application. HTML, JavaScript, JSP, Java and SQL. Has the depth of software knowledge become deeper or shallower? Most people know the languages to a shallow level, their resumes contain 20 to 30 different languages tools platforms, in a period of a year or two, does it mean they have mastered them. I have yet to find doctors who are able to master a plethora of disciplines. I would shudder to go to a surgeon who is an eye surgeon + an ENT surgeon + a cardiac surgeon + neuro surgeon.
But we do not shudder to use software developed by a single person using multiple languages