Published in 1983 in a software engineering report, and also appearing in IEEE Software, this essay by Tony Hoare argues that programming should be understood as an engineering profession. It develops a theme he had pursued since the early 1970s.

In Hoare’s view, engineering unites a basis in scientific and mathematical theory with the practical judgement needed to build reliable products under real constraints of cost and time. He contends that programming, as it matured, ought to take on the same character, drawing on formal methods while accepting professional responsibility for the quality of its work.

The essay reflects his wider concern that software should be dependable and its production disciplined. By framing programming as engineering, rather than as craft or art alone, Hoare points towards standards of training, method and accountability comparable to those of the long-established engineering professions.