An Integrated Approach to Software Engineering

The subject of software engineering is a vast one and is far too large to be covered in detail in any single volume of reasonable size. I have chosen to provide coverage of what I believe are the basics, at a level of detail that is appropriate in an age where much of the critical information is available for free on the World Wide Web. Nearly all topics discussed herein include some examples, often historical ones, if there is sufficient information on both the successes of software projects using the ideas behind these topics and some of the pitfalls that occurred using these ideas. State-of-the-art information is provided when appropriate to those software engineering trends that can be expected to be important for the foreseeable future. The choices made in this book are strongly motivated by the likelihood that you will have many types of positions in your (I hope, long and distinguished) careers in many different technology environments. Software engineering lies at the heart of the computer revolution. Software engineering may best be described as the application of engineering techniques to develop and maintain software that runs properly and is constructed in an efficient manner.