Home›Fields Of Computing›Fields›Software EngineeringFieldsSoftware EngineeringAlso Known As Software DevelopmentCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextComputing Atlas. "Software Engineering." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://computing.interactiveatlas.org/fields/software-engineering.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextComputing Atlas. (n.d.). Software Engineering. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://computing.interactiveatlas.org/fields/software-engineeringCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{computingatlas-software-engineering, author = {Computing Atlas}, title = {Software Engineering}, year = {2026}, url = {https://computing.interactiveatlas.org/fields/software-engineering}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXReference and ClassificationDevelopingSoftware Engineering studies how to build software systems that are reliable, maintainable and delivered on schedule, treating programming as an engineering discipline with its own methods of design, testing and process management rather than an individual craft alone. The term was coined for a 1968 NATO conference in Garmisch, West Germany, convened specifically because software projects of the era were running late, over budget and full of defects, a problem participants called the software crisis.FactsCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsOrigin YearWell-attested1968 1The year of the NATO Software Engineering Conference in Garmisch, where the term was deliberately coined to frame programming as an engineering discipline.Core ConcernWell-attestedHow to design, build and maintain software systems reliably, on schedule and at scale, rather than as individual craft work. 1Cross-Tradition ConnectionsIncludesAda, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Ada (programming language)tier 2Alan Kay, Pioneers Well-attested BASIC, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: BASICtier 2Brendan Eich, Pioneers Well-attested Source Encyclopedia Britannica: Computer ScienceEncyclopedia Britannica Editorstier 2C#, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: C Sharp (programming language)tier 2C++, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: C++tier 2COBOL, Languages Well-attested Source The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital RevolutionWalter Isaacsontier 2Fortran, Languages Well-attested Source Computer: A History of the Information MachineMartin Campbell-Kelly and William Aspraytier 1Functional Programming, Concepts Well-attested Go, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Go (programming language)tier 2Grace Hopper, Pioneers Well-attested Source The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital RevolutionWalter Isaacsontier 2Guido van Rossum, Pioneers Well-attested Source Encyclopedia Britannica: Computer ScienceEncyclopedia Britannica Editorstier 2James Gosling, Pioneers Well-attested Source Wikipedia: James Goslingtier 2Java, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Java (programming language)tier 2JavaScript, Languages Well-attested Source Encyclopedia Britannica: Computer ScienceEncyclopedia Britannica Editorstier 2John Backus, Pioneers Well-attested Source ACM A.M. Turing Award Citationstier 1Kotlin, Languages Well-attested Object Oriented Programming, Concepts Well-attested Source The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital RevolutionWalter Isaacsontier 2Objective-C, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Objective-Ctier 2Perl, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Perltier 2PHP, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: PHPtier 2Python, Languages Well-attested Source Encyclopedia Britannica: Computer ScienceEncyclopedia Britannica Editorstier 2Ruby, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Ruby (programming language)tier 2Rust, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Rust (programming language)tier 2Simula, Languages Well-attested Smalltalk, Languages Well-attested Structured Programming, Concepts Well-attested Swift, Languages Well-attested TypeScript, Languages Well-attested Sources1. IEEE Annals of the History of Computingtier 1IEEE Computer Society, 1979View the Source1. IEEE Annals of the History of Computingtier 1IEEE Computer Society, 1979Field-naming discussionView the SourceThe Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolutiontier 2Walter Isaacson, Simon and Schuster, 2014Includes: Grace HopperThe Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolutiontier 2Walter Isaacson, Simon and Schuster, 2014Includes: COBOLThe Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolutiontier 2Walter Isaacson, Simon and Schuster, 2014Includes: Object Oriented ProgrammingEncyclopedia Britannica: Computer Sciencetier 2Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 2024Includes: Guido van RossumView the SourceEncyclopedia Britannica: Computer Sciencetier 2Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 2024Includes: Brendan EichView the SourceEncyclopedia Britannica: Computer Sciencetier 2Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 2024Includes: PythonView the SourceEncyclopedia Britannica: Computer Sciencetier 2Encyclopedia Britannica Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 2024Includes: JavaScriptView the SourceACM A.M. Turing Award Citationstier 1Association for Computing MachineryIncludes: John BackusView the SourceComputer: A History of the Information Machinetier 1Martin Campbell-Kelly and William Aspray, Basic Books, 1996Includes: FortranWikipedia: Ada (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: AdaView the SourceWikipedia: BASICtier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: BASICView the SourceWikipedia: C++tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: C++View the SourceWikipedia: Java (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: JavaView the SourceWikipedia: Rust (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Rust, IntroductionView the SourceWikipedia: Go (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Go, IntroductionView the SourceWikipedia: Perltier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Perl, IntroductionView the SourceWikipedia: C Sharp (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: C#View the SourceWikipedia: Ruby (programming language)tier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: RubyView the SourceWikipedia: PHPtier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: PHPView the SourceWikipedia: Objective-Ctier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Objective-CView the SourceWikipedia: James Goslingtier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: James Gosling, Career and contributions sectionQuote, Includes: James Gosling, Career and contributions sectionHe is generally credited with having invented the Java programming languageView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year