May 19, 2006
A New BeginningOne door closing means that another one opens. Editorial Director Jon Erickson tells us what's in store for the future of Software Development magazine.Jonathan Erickson
One door closing means that another one opens. Editorial Director Jon Erickson tells us what's in store for the future of Software Development magazine.
I have been tasked the unenviable job of telling you that this is the final issue of Software Development magazine. This is sad news indeed for those of us who have been close to the magazine over the years, whether as a reader, columnist, author, editor or a combination of all of the above.
Like a lot of you, my first encounter with what eventually became Software Development predates CMP Media, Miller Freeman and, well, Software Development itself. The precursor to Software Development was, of course, Computer Language magazine. Back in the early days of Computer Language, I was a technical editor for a book publishing company. When I ran across Computer Language, I found it exciting and vibrant and immediately knew an anthology of articles would be a great book. And better yet, Computer Language was in the South of Market area of San Francisco, at the other end of the Bay Bridge from my office in Berkeley.
As it turned out, Carl Landau and Craig LaGrow, CL's founders, had been weighing similar ideas and we hastily set up a meeting—too hastily, as it turns out. After fighting traffic and finding a parking spot near CL's offices, I showed up for my appointment. Alas, neither Carl nor Craig was there. According to the receptionist, they had an appointment with a book editor in Berkeley. So I called back to my office, where Carl and Craig were safely ensconced, and we proceeded to have our meeting—me at their desk, and them at mine.
Nothing much ever materialized from the interaction, except that was my introduction to a bunch of bright, dedicated and talented people Carl and Craig brought together, producing a magazine that I first admired and later competed with, but always read month-in and month-out.
In particular, I'd like to acknowledge editors such as Regina Starr Ridley, Larry O'Brien, Barbara Hanscome, Alexandra Weber-Morales, Tami Carter, Laurie O'Connell, Rosalyn Lum, Dwight Been, Della Wyser, and the indefatigable and always enjoyable J.D. Hildebrand. Among the many columnists I've enjoyed reading and working with are P.J. Plauger, Warren Keuffel, Stan Kelly-Bootle, Tom Ochs, Larry Constantine, Scott Ambler, Robert C. Martin, Amit Asaravala and Rick Wayne, to name a few. As for occasional contributors, well, the list is way too long.
But going away doesn't always mean good-bye. I'm pleased to announce that Scott Ambler and Rick Wayne are joining Dr. Dobb's Journal as regular contributors, covering the same beats for DDJ that they've covered for SD. In addition, to fill the void that SD leaves, DDJ will be expanding its coverage of the core subjects that historically have been the bailiwick of Software Development—topics such as modeling, project management, architecture, methodologies and the like. In short, you'll be able to turn to a single publication that covers the entire spectrum of software development, from agile methodologies to ZigBee networks.
The transition from SD to DDJ will be transparent for most readers, and you can expect to hear from us shortly regarding the specifics of the move.
Around here, we're excited about the changes and the opportunities those changes bring—and as you start receiving your copies of the new Dr. Dobb's Journal, we know you will be, too.
Jonathan Erickson
Editorial Director
jerickson@cmp.com
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