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Although I agree with the underlying message of Neil McBride's article, is it not obvious that "computer science" is undergoing change? Is this unusual, given the dynamic and fast-evolving nature of this relatively new discipline? It may be undergoing (yet) another paradigm shift in its evolution and application, but that does not mean that we should jettison those principles on which this change is based. Would we seriously consider much older disciplines such as physics dead because of the latest advances in that discipline? In the same way that Newton's laws of motion still hold in their application domain, so do the principles of computer science.

With regard to the recent decline in student enrolments, unfortunately potential recruits believe that computer science's fortunes have been tangled in the hype surrounding the worldwide web and the bursting of the "dotcom" bubble.

At the same time, the computer scientist's skills are very much in demand.

Their supply increasingly seems likely to be met by "importing" staff from India and China if the UK and the US turn their backs on computer science.

Robert Manderson.
Watford