50 Years of Software Engineering

This theme issue on software engineering’s 50th anniversary presents a range of contributions—from pioneers and well-established software engineers, to younger contributors whose imprint on the field is perhaps yet to come. These contributions come in a variety of formats that provide a balanced look at our field’s past, present, and likely future. The topics include both timeless ideas that appeared to fade for a while, only to pop up again in a new incarnation, and entirely new paradigms that have disrupted the field.