Nowadays software engineers not only have to worry about the technical knowledge needed to do their job, but they are increasingly having to know about the legal, professional and commercial context in which they must work. With the explosion of the Internet and major changes to the field with the introduction of the new Data Protection Act and the legal status of software engineers, it is now essential that they have an appreciation of a wide variety of issues outside the technical. Equally valuable to both students and practitioners, it brings together the expertise and experience of leading academics in software engineering, law, industrial relations, and health and safety, explaining the central principles and issues in each field and shows how they apply to software engineering. Booknews Developed from an advanced undergraduate course for students of computing and software engineering (U. of Wales-Aberyswyth), the authors explain how issues in a number of fields impact the practice and business of software engineering. They include finance and accounting, intellectual property rights, human resource management, health and safety at work, and liability for software safety. The earlier editions were published in 1991 and 1995. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Nowadays software engineers not only have to worry about the technical knowledge needed to do their job, but they are increasingly having to know about the legal, professional and commercial context in which they must work. With the explosion of the Internet and major changes to the field with the introduction of the new Data Protection Act and the legal status of software engineers, it is now essential that they have an appreciation of a wide variety of issues outside the technical. Equally valuable to both students and practitioners, it brings together the expertise and experience of leading academics in software engineering, law, industrial relations, and health and safety, explaining the central principles and issues in each field and shows how they apply to software engineering. Software engineers are increasingly becoming business people; Professional Issues in Software Engineering, 3rd Edition gives them comprehensive coverage of the issues they should know about. While most books look at programs related to software engineering rather than the context in which they are used, this book covers the major developments that have occured in recent years, such as the Internet, Data Protection Act, and changes to the legal status of software engineers. This updated edition of a successful textbook is for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for professionals in software engineering and computer science. Terms like profession, professional and professionalism carry a whole variety of meanings; in some contexts they are simply descriptive (e.g. a professional writer), in some they are commendatory (a professional piece of work), and in some they are pejorative (a professional foul). An comprehensive text covering all the issues that software engineers now have to take into account apart from the technical side of things. Includes information on the legal, professional and commercial context in which they work
