software engineering probably requires at minimum, using conditional logic, using a debugger, looking at stack traces and a profiler, and working with data structures / algorithms.

only doing HTML and CSS doesnt have any of this. things are different once you add JS/TS though.

The tools aren't as relevant as the intent. Engineers are intentional. They understand the gotchas, nuances, subtleties, etc. and proactively generate outputs to match.

If nothing else engineering is mitigating balloon grabs. Programmers? Developers? They're far more reactive and without intent far more likely to do balloon grabs.

#usernamechecksout

What is a "balloon grab" in this context?

You do X - typically hastily - and unintended consequences (read: bugs) Y and/or Z pop out somewhere else.

> software engineering probably requires at minimum, using conditional logic, using a debugger, looking at stack traces and a profiler, and working with data structures / algorithms.

Forgive me, that feels like a post-hoc rationalization of a gut feeling.

I would have said engineering is a set of practices and approaches for solving problems within a framework of requirements and constraints. That's rough, but you get the idea. Software engineering is a sub-discipline of that which is related to the realm of software, just as mechanical engineering and genetic engineering and (perhaps) prompt engineering are just flavors defined by the medium. Software engineering isn't defined by the use of some particular set of tools, I don't think any flavor of engineering is.

Real engineers build bridges and not websites?

HTML and CSS without JS are barely turing complete ain't em?