On The Edge Software Consulting

On The Edge Software Consulting has a passion for teaching programming and computer science. The CEO has even written a book on how to improve our computer science programs and continously looks for opportunities to mentor and train young aspiring software engineers. The CEO’s graduate program studies and white papers can be found at his Masters Degree website.

The CEO's motivation to teach computer science at the college level can be best summarized from the following opinion pieces found in Software Development Times.

"When Bjarne Stroustrup, the designer of C++, decries the training of software developers in our colleges and universities, we need to do something about it. Bjarne believes that “few students see code as anything but a disposable entity needed to complete the next project and get good grades. Much of the emphasis in teaching encourages that view.” Ouch! He advises students: Programming is part of software development. It doesn’t matter how fancy your code is unless it solves the right problem and you can explain it to others. So brush up on your communication skills. Learn to listen, to ask good questions, to write clearly and to present clearly. Serious programming is a team sport; brush up on your social skills. The sloppy fat geek computer genius semi-buried in a pile of pizza boxes and cola cans is a mythical creature, best buried deep, never to be seen again.”

SD Times Short Takes 1/1/2009

“What are computer-science students taught: To write software. Where are many newly hired programmers assigned? Code maintenance. Maintaining existing software is the quickest way to get up to speed, not only on the codebase itself but also on corporate coding practices. By studying the code base, and then by making small, incremental changes (to make patches or implement minor feature changes), developers gain essential knowledge and valuable experience. Yet with only rare exceptions, students aren’t taught how to maintain code by studying a code base, rooting out bugs, or adding incremental functionality. Maintenance is not perceived as being interesting and also does not lend itself well to the way that computer science is taught: in discrete semester-long courses focused on specific narrow topics. This is a shame. For years, employers have complained that computer science graduates lack the skills needed by businesses. Learning Java for four years by writing fresh programs is not exactly a good model for success in the corporate world, where few folks, if any, ever get to start a project from scratch. Sure, sometimes that is the case. But for the bulk of nine to five programmers, you are not working on new code; you’re working on old code. We propose a new course for all computer science majors. This course would be of code maintenance.”

SD Times Latest News 4/1/2010