Is software engineering or computer engineering better? It’s a question that many software engineers have been asking. To answer it, we must first define what exactly software engineering is.
Computer engineering is the study of how machines and devices work. It is different from software engineering because it focuses on how those machines and devices operate with their parts. Software engineering focuses on how they function with their programs. Computer engineering is a mathematical study of how we create through programs and in turn create a product.
The math used to create complex systems like the human brain was also called “Neural Networks” at the time, and it was considered the foundation of all modern mathematics. It is the basis for every branch of information technology, including web design, software, data mining, and computer science.
It is easy to understand why software engineers are so interested in computer engineering. A software engineer builds programs to solve a problem by making connections between events that occur over time.
A programmer makes a program to interact with something. In computer engineering, a designer creates a program to be used by people.
Software Engineering
From this, we can see why software engineering is a much more complicated and precise form of engineering than computer engineering. A computer engineer can build the components of a computer, but can’t make a computer; a software engineer can’t really make a program or a computer. Both have the ability to change the physical systems but have limitations as to how much they can do. They are both great tools.
So is software engineering better than computer engineering? For people who love to build things, the answer is a resounding yes. For software engineers, the answer is yes because there is more to computer engineering than just thinking, programming, and building. They can design but not build.
But, how does software engineering stand up to more traditional engineering disciplines? Both disciplines use math and computer science to solve problems, and both have the ability to generate new ideas, but the difference lies in what is being solved.
Computer engineering
With computer engineering, the goal is to make a computer that does what a computer was made to do. In software engineering, the goal is to create a program that interacts with a user’s input, and that generates a new piece of work based on that input. Both disciplines are very interesting, and interesting problems can be solved with these disciplines.
Math and computer science are not exclusive to each other. There are many people who get their degrees in mathematics, and computer science, but do not go on to become software engineers.
Our software engineering and computer engineering more similar than they are different? I think both of them are better than each other. They are very different disciplines, and the questions that come up in each discipline require two very different ways of thinking and communicating.
Computer engineers want to understand how a computer works, and software engineers want to build programs. They both have a unique way of expressing themselves, and sometimes these languages are difficult to communicate with one another. So they are both “better” than each other, but that is the only true difference between them.
