The Core Science of SE - 1 - Hanania Salzer and Ilya Levin The Core Science of Software Engineering Hanania Salzer 1 and Ilya Levin Tel Aviv University, School of Education, Tel-Aviv, Israel Computer Science Every engineering discipline is based on mathematics and on one or a few core sciences. Traditionally, the core sciences of Software Engineering (SE) were mathematics and Computer Science (CS). SE is outstanding in this regard. Not only that its core science itself is a branch of mathematics, but also it is not an empiric one. In this paper we propose an empiric core science for SE. Software Engineering literature is characterized by references to yet unsolved intrinsic problems that are typical to this profession and seem reluctant to go away. Veteran practitioners and scientists agree that SE “is different”, and propose reasons for that (Parnas, 1985, Kaindl et al, 2002, Beizer, 2000, Hazzan, 2002), still no radical improvement seems to emerge from these insights. A major problem of the software industry is that practitioners do not do what scholars preach (Humphrey, 1998, Davis & Hickey, 2002). One of the authors has conducted analyses in two large and one medium size 1 Corresponding author, salzerha@post.tau.ac.il Updated: 15 February 2007 (23:16)