On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computer Science

1988 paper by E. W. Dijkstra

"On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computing Science" is a 1988 scholarly article by E. W. Dijkstra[1] which argues that computer programming should be understood as a branch of mathematics, and that the formal provability of a program is a major criterion for correctness.

Despite the title, most of the article is on Dijkstra’s attempt to put computer science into a wider perspective within science, teaching being addressed as a corollary at the end. Specifically, Dijkstra made a “proposal for an introductory programming course for freshmen” that consisted of Hoare logic as an uninterpreted formal system.

## Debate over feasibility

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Since the term "software engineering" was coined, formal verification has almost always been considered too resource-intensive to be feasible.[citation needed] In complex applications, the difficulty of correctly specifying what the program should do in the first place is also a common source of error. Other methods of software testing are generally employed to try to eliminate bugs and many other factors are considered in the measurement of software quality.

Until the end of his life, Dijkstra maintained that the central challenges of computing hadn't been met to his satisfaction, due to an insufficient emphasis on program correctness (though not obviating other requirements, such as maintainability and efficiency).[2]

## Pedagogical legacy

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Computer science as taught today does not follow  all of Dijkstra's advice. The curricula generally emphasize techniques for managing complexity and preparing for future changes, following Dijkstra's earlier writings. These include abstraction, programming by contract, and design patterns. Programming techniques to avoid bugs and conventional software testing methods are taught as basic requirements, and students are exposed to certain mathematical tools, but formal verification methods are not included in the curriculum except perhaps as an advanced topic.[3] So in some ways, Dijkstra's ideas have been adhered to; however, the ideas he felt most strongly about have not been.

Newly formed curricula in software engineering have adopted Dijkstra's recommendations. The focus of these programs is the formal specification of software requirements and design in order to facilitate the formal validation of system correctness. In Canada, they are often accredited engineering degrees with similar core competencies in physics-based engineering.[4]

## References

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1. ^ Dijkstra, Edsger W. On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computing Science (EWD-1036) (PDF). E.W. Dijkstra Archive. Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. (transcription)
2. ^ Dijkstra, Edsger W. The end of Computing Science? (EWD-1304) (PDF). E.W. Dijkstra Archive. Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. (transcription)
3. ^ MIT Courses :
* Eric Grimson, Peter Szolovits, and Trevor Darrell. 6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. Spring 2005. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
* Robert Morris, and Samuel Madden. 6.033 Computer System Engineering. Spring 2009. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
* Ronitt Rubinfeld, and Albert Meyer. 6.042J Mathematics for Computer Science. Fall 2005. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
* Daniel Jackson. 6.170 Software Studio. Spring 2013. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
4. ^ "Software Engineering Programs Are Not Computer Science Programs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-10-30.

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Edsger Dijkstra

Works|

* A Primer of ALGOL 60 Programming (book)
* Structured Programming (book)
* A Discipline of Programming (book)
* A Method of Programming (book)
* Predicate Calculus and Program Semantics (book)
* Selected Writings on Computing: A Personal Perspective (book)
* A Note on Two Problems in Connexion with Graphs
* Cooperating Sequential Processes
* Solution of a Problem in Concurrent Programming Control
* The Structure of the 'THE'-Multiprogramming System
* Go To Statement Considered Harmful
* Notes on Structured Programming
* The Humble Programmer
* Programming Considered as a Human Activity
* How Do We Tell Truths That Might Hurt?
* On the Role of Scientific Thought
* Self-stabilizing Systems in Spite of Distributed Control
* On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computer Science
* Selected papers
* EWD manuscripts

Main research
areas|

* Theoretical computing science
* Software engineering
* Systems science
* Algorithm design (Dijkstra's algorithm)
* Concurrent computing
* Distributed computing
* Formal methods
* Programming methodology
* Programming language research
* Program design and development
* Software architecture
* Philosophy of computer programming and computing science

Related
people|

* Shlomi Dolev
* Per Brinch Hansen
* Tony Hoare
* Ole-Johan Dahl
* Leslie Lamport
* David Parnas
* Jaap Zonneveld
* Carel S. Scholten
* Adriaan van Wijngaarden
* Niklaus Wirth

* Wikiquote

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