Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: 50 Years of Software Engineering

In 2018, we’re now 50 years after the famous groundbreaking conference on software engineering in Garmisch, organized by its chairman F.L. Bauer and his cochairs L. Bolliet and H.J. Helms. This conference introduced the notion and discipline of software engineering. This is a moment to look back at what we’ve achieved, what we haven’t achieved, where we are today, and what challenges lie ahead. This article is part of a theme issue on software engineering’s 50th anniversary.