neff@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Randy Neff) (03/29/88)
I am curious, just who is really doing software engineering research these days, either in academia or in industrial research labs? Like using Unix, Ada, color workstations, color graphical tools, formal languages, reuse libraries. Where is the vision? Where are the future advances coming from? Who is searching for the Silver Bullet? Certainly in some 'famous' computer science departments, software engineering is not an 'acceptable' field of research. So what is the future and where is it coming from? Am I going to have to spend the rest of my programming life in the current morass? Any leads greatly appreciated. Randall Neff neff@sierra.stanford.edu
jwg1@bunny.UUCP (James W. Gish) (03/31/88)
In article <2610@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU> neff@Shasta.UUCP (Randy Neff) writes: >I am curious, just who is really doing software engineering research these >days, either in academia or in industrial research labs? Like using Unix, Ada, >color workstations, color graphical tools, formal languages, reuse libraries. >Where is the vision? Where are the future advances coming from? Who is >searching for the Silver Bullet? >Certainly in some 'famous' computer science departments, software engineering >is not an 'acceptable' field of research. >So what is the future and where is it coming from? Am I going to have to >spend the rest of my programming life in the current morass? > One place it is being done is here at GTE Laboratories in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Labs is the central research group for all of GTE Corp. It's divided into four laboratories: Materials Science, Electronics and Photonics, Telecommunications Research, and Computer and Intelligent Systems (the lab I'm in). CISL has four departments: Intelligent Database Systems, Knowledge-Based Systems, Self-Improving Systems, Computer and Information Systems and Software Technologies (the dept. I'm in). The Software Technologies department is doing research in software reusability, rapid prototyping, programming environments and user interface management systems. In the other departments there are projects on connectionist systems, expert systems, enterprise modelling, heterogeneous database systems and others. Most companies don't recognize the need for software engineering research or even available methodologies until they are on the way out. Many never do. I'm fortunate to have found a company that at least at some level believes in software engineering research. I'm sure there are other companies that feel the same. Our department is a (too) small group and we're not turning out silver bullets but we're giving it our best shot. Also consider that there are more than a handful of CASE companies in existence (although most will not survive). Some of them have some excellent ideas that they are turning into products. It's unfortunate, but not very much of this work is going on in universities, yet some of it has considerable merit and deserves academic scrutiny and nourishment. -- Jim Gish GTE Laboratories, Inc., Waltham, MA CSNET: jwg1@gte-labs UUCP: ..!harvard!bunny!jwg1
warren@psu-cs.UUCP (Warren Harrison) (03/31/88)
> I am curious, just who is really doing software engineering research these > days, either in academia or in industrial research labs? Like using Unix, Ada, > color workstations, color graphical tools, formal languages, reuse libraries. > Where is the vision? Where are the future advances coming from? Who is > searching for the Silver Bullet? > Certainly in some 'famous' computer science departments, software engineering > is not an 'acceptable' field of research. > So what is the future and where is it coming from? Am I going to have to > spend the rest of my programming life in the current morass? > > Any leads greatly appreciated. > Randall Neff neff@sierra.stanford.edu Actually, I think a large number of places are doing SE research. Univ of Maryland is the first one that springs to mind. Vic Basili's lab is world famous, and have come up with some really impressive stuff. Also, there is a lot going on in industry, but you'll never hear about it until the products are released (keep in mind the phrase "competitive advantage"). Naturally, it all depends on what you consider software engineering, but I would guess at least one SE researcher can be found at any school which has not overspecialized itself (best place to look are the public schools). In terms of industrial SE research, there are many such efforts the ones that are best known would be MCC (under Bill Curtis), the SEI (at CMU) and the Software Productivity Consortium. Most of the work going on elsewhere tends to be pretty product oriented. It would be easier to nail down if your were to tell me what you consider "software engineering" research to be. Warren Harrison The University of Portland
UH2@PSUVM.BITNET (Lee Sailer) (03/31/88)
The Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon, in Pittsburgh,
is doing research in SE. (No foolin'?)
leewex@banzai-inst.SW.MCC.COM (Alan Wexelblat) (04/05/88)
In article <579@psu-cs.UUCP>, warren@psu-cs.UUCP (Warren Harrison) writes: > In terms of industrial SE research, there are many such efforts > the ones that are best known would be MCC (under Bill Curtis), the [...] Just a small correction wrt MCC. MCC has four ongoing programs, one of which is the Software Technology Program (STP). STP is headed by Les Belady. Dr. Curtis works for Dr. Belady as a group manager (specifically, the Design Process group).