Don Armstrong wrote:
[snip]
If we are to treat documentation any differently than software, we
should first define a ruberic that distinguishes software from
documentation. In all previous discussions, we were unable to do this.
[I cannot do it, but perhaps someone else is able.]
[snip]
What about
1. Documentation:
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (09 FEB 02) :
documentation
The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed,
bleached, and pressed trees that accompany most modern
software or hardware products (see also tree-killer).
Hackers seldom read paper documentation and (too) often resist
writing it; they prefer theirs to be terse and on-line. A
common comment on this predilection is "You can't grep dead
trees". See drool-proof paper, verbiage, treeware.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 :
documentation
2: program listings or technical manuals describing the
operation and use of programs [syn: software
documentation]
2. Software:
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (09 FEB 02) :
(Or "computer program", "program") The
instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the
physical device on which they run (the "{hardware").
"{Code" is closely related but not exactly the same.
[snip]
Some claim that documentation (both paper and electronic) is
also software. Others go further and define software to be
programs plus documentation though this does not correspond
with common usage.
--
Best regards, Sergey Spiridonov
