What Is Software Engineering? Definition and Job Outlook | Built In
What Is Software Engineering?
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS ARE THE KEY PLAYERS BEHIND EVERY WEBSITE, APP AND DIGITAL EXPERIENCE WE ENCOUNTER. | Image: Shutterstock
Mục lục bài viết
What Is Software Engineering?
Software engineering is a discipline that covers all aspects of software development, including designing, building, testing, distributing and maintaining software products. The field requires engineering principles, problem-solving abilities and programming language skills to design software that meets various user needs.
What sets software engineering apart from other disciplines is the flexibility it demands. Teams should feel comfortable applying Agile and Waterfall methods — the former promoting a more fluid approach, the latter offering a more structured option. And while languages like C++, Java and Python are common in software engineering, the discipline is constantly evolving to include new programming languages like F#, Clojure and Apache Groovy. Those who excel in software engineering know how to juggle complex projects, pivot between different work methods and keep up with the latest industry technologies and trends to provide the best digital experiences possible.
At the heart of this discipline are software engineers. These computer science professionals use their understanding of engineering principles, methods and languages to create, maintain and update computer software. The software engineering field is very broad, with engineers having various roles and areas of technical expertise.
Types of Software Engineering
All parts of the software development life cycle — budgeting, analysis, design, development, testing, integration, maintenance and retirement — are considered a part of software engineering. These tasks often fall into three separate buckets depending on the needs of the project: operational software engineering, transitional software engineering and software engineering maintenance.
Operational Software Engineering
Operational software engineering involves tasks related to how software interacts with a system, including tasks and decisions made on its budget, how it works for teams and customers, its functionality within the system and any risks it may pose.
Transitional Software Engineering
Transitional software engineering involves tasks related to the software’s flexibility and scalability when it’s shifted out of its initial environment.
Software Engineering Maintenance
Software engineering maintenance covers tasks related to improving and debugging existing software to account for changes in environment, emerging technologies or vulnerabilities and bugs that may have been neglected during a previous development cycle. Eventually, maintenance is phased out and retirement is initiated.
Programming Languages
Software engineers use languages to program computers to execute certain tasks. These programming languages serve as the basis for how applications and websites appear visually and how they carry out tasks. Most languages involve complicated structures that take engineers years to learn. Below are a few of the most popular programming languages used today:
JavaScript
As of 2022, 98 percent of all websites use JavaScript. This language plays a major role in front-end development to assure that interactive web pages run smoothly and function correctly. In addition, it’s an extremely flexible language that offers a range of data structures and allows even beginners to pick up on it quickly.
Python
Python is an open source, user-friendly language that shines when it comes to code reusability and readability. The language is used for a wide variety of software engineering projects that range from application development and database creation to building AI and machine learning systems.
HTML and CSS
HTML and CSS often form the backbones of websites. HTML distinguishes specific elements on a web page, such as headers, paragraphs and lists. CSS adds more detail to the style and layout of these elements, enabling colors, sidebars and other advanced options.
C++
C++ is an object-oriented language that is suited for various purposes. The language shares much of the same syntax with its predecessor C and is preferred when teams need to build software and hardware applications at a fast pace.
SQL
SQL is a programming language that allows teams to communicate with and shape databases to their liking. Software engineers rely on SQL to find specific information, organize data into tables and make adjustments to the original database.
