This text provides up-to-date coverage of an area that is now perceived as an essential element of a software engineer's education - the legal, professional and commercial context in which they must work. The 1990s have seen a rapidly growing appreciation of the importance to software engineers of issues beyond mere technical knowledge. These include: the commercial and financial framework; the effect of new technology on employment; the safety and reliability of computer systems; intellectual property rights in software; computer contracts; and computer misuse. The context in which professional software engineers operate changes as quickly as technology. This new edition has been comprehensively revised to reflect these changes. The major changes have been the development of the Internet, the new Data Protection Act, and recent developments in the legal status of software engineers in the USA. All these are covered and the first chapter has been substantially extended to cover ethical issues and codes of conduct.