Here's another link on licensing of software engineers, this time from the ACM:
http://www.acm.org/serving/se_policy/report.html
it seems that cryptographic/security software, if we ever get the liability structure whose lack is often pointed out by Schneier ("we don't have good security because we don't have to"), may be a prime target for such licensing.
-david
How would such legislation affect those who call themselves SW : designers practitioners developers creators quality assessors implementors builders artists authors artisans ... Because they are not licensed SWEs they would not be able to get their obj modules signed to allow execution on legal HW? Illegal HW would be detected and prosecutable? An ineffective but burdensome SW Eng licensing bureaucracy will probably be set up that will limit or control the access of some developers to certain contracts or projects especially anything purchased using public funds or "affecting the safety of the public".
On Mon, 18 Sep 2000, Michael Motyka wrote:
How would such legislation affect those who call themselves SW :
designers practitioners developers creators quality assessors implementors builders artists authors artisans ...
At least here in Texas not at all.
Because they are not licensed SWEs they would not be able to get their obj modules signed to allow execution on legal HW? Illegal HW would be detected and prosecutable?
Actualy it has to do more with insurance and legal liability. With the certification it actualy makes it easier to hold somebody responsible for failures. There are also a lot of insurance issues (which I don't claim to fully understand, nor want to) as well. At least here in Texas the move seems to be pushed mainly by lawyers and other litigation related groups. It's probably the same group, at least in part, who pushed through the changes on the Professional Engineer Cert. that required a college degree to even join the PE program for certification. The same for the Bar a few years ago they changed it so you had to be a graduage of an accredited law school. It's about as silly as the attempted outlawing of self-help legal material here in Texas by the Bar and its cohorts. It's a mechanism to raise taxes through the licensing of all business (no objection) and inrease litigation (big objection). ____________________________________________________________________ He is able who thinks he is able. Buddha The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------
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Jim Choate -
Michael Motyka