For what it's worth, as a graduate student in mathematics, I often found it veey useful to go back to the work of great 19th century mathematicians as I was trying to master a subject. In my opinion, the time that an idea was first introduced should not be the only criterion by which we judge its usefulness today. In fact, it is sometimes a useful exercise to look back at the ideas introeuced by the "old masters", as we sometimes call them in mathematics.
Make no mistake, I'll be the first to argue that much of what we have in VistA is dated and obsolete. I actually agree with you that there is much that badly needs to be replaced. On the other hand, I also think that there is much that is quite brilliant and powerful about MUMPS and VistA. What we really need to do is appreciate what we have and consider how best to move it forward. Maybe that will involve continuing to use MUMPS (only), and maybe it won't. That's not the real point. To put it bluntly, this has become a debate about ideology, not ideas. What we need is ideas. --- "K.S. Bhaskar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I do not want to get into the relational vs. non-relational debate, > but > I do want to take issue with the implication in your e-mail that > VistA > is obsolete just by virtue of being a product of the twentieth > century. > There is in principle no reason for an enteprise scale software > system to every become obsolete (unless, I suppose the need that it > solves goes away, which is certainly not the case for VistA). > However, > what it requires to keep a product permanently viable is a commitment > to > continual re-engineering. Software needs to be maintained. Pieces > and > subsystems need to be replaced. But the system as a whole can remain > > permanently viable - if there is a commitment to continual > re-engineering backed by actions and follow-through, rather than mere > words. > > De we raze cities - or abandon them and build new cities elsewhere - > just because automobiles are invented? Or do we re-engineer cities - > > which may involve tearing down city blocks here and there - to take > advantage of a change in technology? > > -- Bhaskar > "The most profound technologies are those that disappear." --Mark Weiser ==== Greg Woodhouse [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. How far can you shotput a projector? How fast can you ride your desk chair down the office luge track? If you want to score the big prize, get to know the little guy. Play to win an NEC 61" plasma display: http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
