3.4 Coding, Programming, and Software Engineering

Coding is easy. To write a set if instructions in a particular computer language only requires a knowledge of that language’s syntax and semantics.

Programming requires more thought. We need to first consider the problem we are being asked to solve, understand it well enough to formulate a solution, translate that solution into an algorithm, and then to code that algorithm into our chosen computer language. From this description we see that coding is only the final (and arguably the least demanding) step.

Software engineering is a broader discipline requiring an understanding of requirement solicitation, through system design, programming, to monitoring and improving operational systems.