----- Original Message ----- From: "John Stanton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <sqlite-users@sqlite.org> Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 1:32 AM Subject: Re: [sqlite] Re: Structured or Object-Oriented
> > > I was always impressed with Dijkstra's contention that a programmer's > most important quality is a familiarity and skill with mathematics. The > ability to think in abstract terms and understand the concept of proof > of correctness is certainly more important than learning a certain > methodology and blindly applying it. > JS I agree with the basic idea except in that it does not really relate to mathematics as such: 'The ability to think in abstract terms and understand the concept of proof of correctness' could be considered a basic principle of philosophy and by application of science; In the 1970's I was studying biology and the most earth shattering concept/rule that came my way was 'always relate structure to function', a principle which 'encapsulates' OOP in five words (or four if you remove the 'always'); Biology in the evolutionary sense is not concerned with correctness but with the 'fittest', that is, that which functions best; there is no proof, correctness or methodology, only that which works;
