🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1991Jul22.140553.24030@news.nd.edu> wessels@thor.cc.nd.edu (Andy Wessels) writes:

>Engineering is moving towards requiring practicing engineers to be registered 
>witht the state(s) that they practice in (though not required today)  It would
>be analagous (sp?) to the bar exam for lawyers or the boards for doctors.  This
>is a way for the state to help assure that the people practicing are competent
>and not outside of there realm of competency.  This type of exam is a 
>_professional_ certification.  Programmers are a _professional_ group of
>people.  There is software that is very difficult and has the potential effect
>of taking several lives.  Mentioned has been medical software and software that

[ Additional "software is life-critical" ]

>Before I get flamed to death (asbestos suit being donned at this minute :-),
>please consider that there may be lives involved  in software.  The actions

This is the best reason I can think of to keep government out of it.  The only
person who should decide whether a programmer is qualified to write software
for an X-ray machine is the owner, who is also responsible for negligence.  The
fact that the government has certified me to have a degree in XYZ does not
mean that I am competent, and thus would be dangerously misleading.  Nor does
the converse hold.

>could be devistating.  The idea that NJ wants to convey is some sort of 
>_professional_ standards, based solely upon what I have read in this newsgroup.
>There intentions are to promote solid software, and not screwed up hack jobs
>written by fly-by-night operations.  Consider that Disk-Jockeys working at
>stations over 100 watts _must_ be liscenced by the FCC.  As the transmitter

Not parallel.  Pumping a kW of rf at the wrong frequency can cause harm to many 
people without their consent.  If you purchase buggy software (or worse, purchase
without testing!) you harm yourself with your consent.

wrt the FCC, we can discuss frequency privatization some other time...

>power goes up, so do the requiremnents.  And the DJ may  not have anything
>to do with the station outside of his little room.

Huh?

The fundamental problem with licensing:  I want to write code for Joe Random.  He
want me to write code for him.  New Jersey says "No, you haven't accumlated enough
continued-education credit hours".  We both lose.  

>
>andy
>wessels@thor.cc.nd.edu

   Eli "@gang.umass.edu" Brandt

I'm voting for Frank Zappa, meself.