The Seductive Computer : Why IT Systems Always Fail / by Derek Partridge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Partridge, Derek, 1945- author.

Contributor:

SpringerLink (Online service)

Series:

Computer Science (Springer-11645)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Computers and civilization.

Management information systems.

Computer science.

Computers.

Software engineering.

Application software.

Computers and Society.

Management of Computing and Information Systems.

The Computing Profession.

Software Engineering.

Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems.

Information Systems Applications (incl. Internet).

Local Subjects:

Computers and Society.

Management of Computing and Information Systems.

The Computing Profession.

Software Engineering.

Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems.

Information Systems Applications (incl. Internet).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (XVI, 323 pages) : 56 illustrations, 6 illustrations in color

Edition:

First edition 2011.

Contained In:

Springer eBooks

Place of Publication:

London : Springer London : Imprint: Springer, 2011.

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No. The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented. IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding. This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not 'How To Program' but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology. From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge. What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.

Contents:

Preface

1. Introduction

I The Joy Of Programming

2. The Happy Hacker: Love At First Byte

3. The Reluctant Programmer

4. Cooking Up Programs

5. Recipes For What?

6. Programs: The Good, The Bad And The Verified

7. Going To Ground With Symbols

8. Hooptedoodle 1 - The Proof Of The Pudding Is In The Science

9. The Soft Machine

10. Computers Only Do What You Tell Them To Do

11. Hooptedoodle 2 - Recursing Through Tescos

II The Way Of The Seducer

12. Intimate Relationships Of The Computational Kind

13. Programming With Flair

14. Hooptedoodle 3 - The Seductive Gene

15. Runaway Programs - Dr Frankenstein's Predicament

16. Sneakaway Programs - Everybody's Predicament

17. Hooptedoodle 4 - Bases For Data Security

18. The Roles Of Software In Society

III Pieces Of Resistance

19. Help From Within

20. A Moderately Stupid Assistant

21. Watching Programs Work - Support For Voyeurism

22. Classical Reconditioning: Doing What Happens Naturally

23. A Computer That Knows When It's Wrong

IV The End Of The Affair

24. Analysis and Counselling

25.Epilogic.

Other Format:

Printed edition:

ISBN:

978-1-84996-498-2

9781849964982

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.