During the past year, there has been an increasingly frequent discussion of the shortage of software professionals in North America and, less frequently, other parts of the world. Indeed, while I was writing this introduction, the venerable Wall Street Journal carried a front-page article ("Filling High-Tech Jobs Is Getting Very Tough") in its December 1, 1997 issue. We thought it would be a good idea to investigate the causes and possible solutions to the "shortage" problem and tracked down experts who could share their ideas in this month's issue of American Programmer. To our surprise, we found that there is a vigorous, and sometimes vitriolic, debate on the subject. Thus we've organized the articles to provide a balanced "point/counterpoint" discussion for your review.