[geeks] New Tech Schools: Digital Harbor in Baltimore

Sridhar Ayengar ploopster at gmail.com
Thu Apr 12 13:35:12 CDT 2007


der Mouse wrote:
>>> It scares me that you can graduate now with a comp-sci degree,
>>> without ever having done any system programming.
>> You can graduate with a BS in Computer Science from a *reputable*
>> school nowadays, having *never programmed a single line of code*.
> 
> Nothing wrong with that.  Computer science has about as much to do with
> programming as knowing the chemistry of combustion does with building
> an internal combustion engine.

I would suggest that the analogy should be more that computer science 
has to do with programming as knowing the chemistry of combustion has to 
do with *designing* an internal combustion engine.

That said, if you're designing an internal combustion engine without 
having a fundamental (at least instinctive) knowledge of the chemistry 
of combustion, your engine is going to be shite.

> The real problem - to the extent that there is one - is people
> confusing computer science with programming, designing software
> systems, and/or sysadminning.

Indeed.  At least in computer science classes, you are taught some 
things that are at lest *somewhat* useful when writing code.  Computer 
science classes teach *nothing* that is useful for good practice in 
system administration.  But that doesn't stop every headhunter on the 
planet from listing job openings in system administration requiring a 
bachelor's degree in computer science.  *sigh*

Peace...  Sridhar



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