> > Hiding the details of the underlying resources is one of the > > functions/features of the OS, isn't it? > > Bjarne Stroustrup likes to call that "data abstraction and encapsulation;" > in a different context. But the essence of it is the same. Operational > details have to be "hidden," functional ones not. You don't want your OS to > "abstract" your latest and best hardware's capabilities by dumbing it down > to 80286. You also don't want your OS to generalize at the cost of fitting > all sorts of resources into one model--it can't be done.
on the other hand, stroustup's ideas tend to make modern computers compile as slowlyas a 80286. - erik
