Chapter 7. Software Engineering

Paul Vixie

Software engineering is a wider field than "writing programs." Yet, in many Open Source projects, programs are simply written and given away. It's clear from historical examples that software need not be engineered in order to be widely used and enjoyed. In this essay we'll look at some general elements of software engineering, then at the Open Source community's usual equivalents to these elements, and then finally at the implications of the differences between the two approaches.