Re: FN-FORUM profession??

date posted 29th September 2002 21:49

----- Original Message -----
From: "David McEwen" [EMAIL REMOVED]
To: [EMAIL REMOVED]
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 9:05 PM
Subject: Re: FN-FORUM profession??


> Throughout this thread I've seen web development compared with medicine,
> architecture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering car maintenance
and
> car design. You can't go making comparisons like that seriously, when did
a
> web application ever fall down and kill anyone, when did a web application
> ever come plummeting out of the sky full of passengers. Get real guys.
>

They do fall down and kill companies, jobs and if the dotBomb disaster is to
be taken into account, can have quite an effect on killing economies. Also,
when you see the uses that web technologies are turned to, people could die.

What about a patient database? or information on faulty vehicles, or
aircraft components? It is becomming far more common for applications
handling all sorts of traditional applications to be written in the web
idion where there is no need to install client applications and to allow
distributed working.

Believe me, I have gotten **VERY*REAL**. These things can, and (if not done
so already) will no doubt kill people. Besides, when will someone who
believes him/herself to be the greatest developer in the world after writing
wooly web stuff then get into application writing and then write an idiotic
piece of software?

This is a profession. Some of us actually are professional. Some of us are
cowboys. I'm fed up with cleaning up after the latter and having to compete
with them when they quote seriously unattainable goals when we tender for
work. And don't say that they will go out of business because they are no
good, because the reality is that they will be paid during development, the
client frequently goes through and the cowboy goes around complaining how he
didn't get paid and goes off to another job. I've seen it happen time and
time again as, no doubt, have many other members on this list.

Professionalism is a frame of mind. Some of the most professional people
I've known are self taught and have no formal qualifications, but they are
in a minority.

Mark