Re: [fw-wiz] tunnel vs open a hole

From: Gary Flynn (flynngn@jmu.edu)
Date: 04/11/03

  • Next message: Dana Nowell: "Re: [fw-wiz] tunnel vs open a hole" 
    From: Gary Flynn <flynngn@jmu.edu>
To: Crispin Cowan <crispin@wirex.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 10:52:01 -0400

    Crispin Cowan wrote:

    > I can point a finger :-) *The* problem is that "software engineering" is
    > not actually an engineering discipline, it is a black art. Software
    > development is not repeatable, not predictable, not manageable, and
    > depends critically on key individuals. This is an art form.
    >
    > We can all *wish* for software to become an engineering discipline, but
    > that doesn't make it so, no matter how much money you put behind it. The
    > SE research community has been working on making it actually be an
    > engineering discipline for 20 or 30 years or so, and they've made some
    > marginal progress, but it is still fundamentally an art form.

    I was going to say something similar last night but I
    wanted to think about other complex, non-deterministic,
    creative processes that, unlike software engineering,
    ARE generally successful at creating reproducible
    quality.

    Thinking about it, many of them that are important to
    infrastructure and safety, such as engineering
    and architecture, require certification, licensing,
    third party inspections, and governement regulations.

    Another difference may be the amount of varied
    interaction with the end user of the product. While
    a spacecraft may have to survive in an environment
    of almost infinite temperature and force changes with
    random particle hits thrown in, most of those can be
    mathmatically modeled and, given sufficient money
    and motivation, designed around an acceptable risk
    level. Contrast that with the different ways humans
    may intentionally and unintentionally use a piece of
    software in and out of its intended design parameters
    and couple that with being attached to a world-wide
    network. This creates a big gray area for compromise
    between robustness for user intentions and robustness
    for self-protection. The software engineer is tasked
    with modeling the world of humans. This may be
    especially true of security software.

    I also think that software engineering is significantly
    different than other engineering fields because it is
    basically creating something out of nothing. There are
    very few natural or physical laws that set baseline
    contraints unlike civil, electrical, mechanical, etc.
    engineering fields. Given enough time, one could
    theoretically write code and design computer interfaces
    to do just about anything. Doing it well and ensuring
    an accurate model is another story entirely. :) Software
    writers basically create their own worlds. They are
    able to directly manipulate the genetic code of the
    algorithm and the atoms of the machine. They are less
    limited by physical laws and perhaps are closer to
    creative writers than mechanical engineers. Sometimes
    I think that is the attraction of computers. 

    -- 
Gary Flynn
Security Engineer - Technical Services
James Madison University
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