software design (was Re: [geeks] perlish disgruntlement, java considered, sun hardware sought)

[alex j avriette]

>> no, and i dont have to for reasons i'll explain in a moment here.
>
> Hmmm ...

you really should read messages before replying. its a nasty (but 
tempting) habit to reply line-by-line before having read the entire 
message.

> You found it necessary to make judgements about my code written on a 
> mailing
> list as a demonstration.
>
> And if you are trying to make a point, it is good practice to actually 
> make
> that point, not make amateurish errors like the above.

and this is where i bow out. flame wars are just not cool, mmkay.

> Ahhhh, there's the problem.  You think of computing as a science, which

computing _is_ a science.

> should be kept pure and virginal and unsullied by the real world.  I 
> think
> of it as engineering, which is grubby and dirty and has sharp edges just

my education is in engineering. i am well aware of engineers attitudes 
towards theoreticians, academics, and scientists.

> waiting to gouge chunks out of the back of your head when you stand up.
> And in engineering, you just *know* that however much effort you put in,
> you'll never be good enough to satisfy either the suits or the 
> scientists.

and yet many engineers are given free reign to make the best product 
they can. take, for example, military turbojets. you show me a design 
that was "quick and dirty" in military turbojets (and no a pulsejet 
doesnt count), and i'll... i'll... i'll be surprised.

>> so i'll ask again, why is it we own suns and sgi's if its simply okay 
>> to
>> "get the job done?"
>
> Errm, because they get the job done whereas PC crap doesn't :-)

uh-huh.

<sound of hands being thrown in the air>
alex

--
alex j avriette, perl hacker
avriettea at speakeasy.net
http://envy.posixnap.net/