[rescue] Mozilla Firefox

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Thu, 22 Apr 2004 @ 08:54 -0400, Sheldon T. Hall said:

> I don't know that using less RAM or disk space, in the absolute, is all that
> big a deal, but it's kind of embarassing to see how much of it some modern
> software takes.  Doubly so when you consider that the increase in program
> functionality hasn't nearly kept pace with the consumption of resources.

I was getting ready to say that too.  I do understand making use
of available resources, but not when it buys us very little true
functionality.

A good case in point is my alma maters registration system.  It used to
run on a minicomputer which was basically a 68030 based machine with
512k RAM, and a few dozen terminals.

Now it is a huge Sun enterprise server, and a few dozen M$ Windows
machines.  The primary changes:

- frequent terminal failure, since a Windows box is more maintenance
  heavy than a glass tty
- the new UI is more error prone and harder to use than the old one
- it has been over five years, and they still are not finished
- the resource consumption is several times that of the old system, in
  the case of memory, several hundred times
- the new system is actually slower

So tell me... what was the benefit in getting rid of the old mini, which
could have been replaced with a newer system for a fraction of what this
development project has cost in new hardware alone.

To me, a byte wasted when you know how to not waste it, is a byte wasted
wether your system has 1MB or 1GB.  Yes there is a point at which it is
OK due to some benefit gained, but there is also a point at which it is
too much.

Why be wasteful if you don't have to?

Also, one part of the computer has not improved its capacity: the human
writing the code.  Some projects are so huge now, optimizing, fixing,
and other modifications are very difficult.  Also, I feel like each year
I am becoming less aware of the system, because I am forced to use very
high level tools.  My boss refuses to spend the time on doing a truly
good job, and I would be doing most of the work alone because my fellow
programmers either refuse to do the work, or just can't.

Also, have you noticed that in the OO/plugin world we have now, there is
an explosion of new projects instead of fixing old ones that were either
almost there, or just needed minor work?

I thought this was supposed to reduce the amount of code we wrote.
Instead I see it being used as an excuse to create even larger projects.

Every time I see a C project replaced with C++, it doesn't get smaller
and less complicated -- the primary promise of C++ -- it gets larger and
more complicated almost without fail.


-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["There are nowadays professors of
philosophy, but not philosophers." ]