Come on guys. Systems are complex only with regard to what you want to do with them.
Is a book or a computer more complex than a brick or a block of wood? That depends. If you want to read it, then many answers are possible, but they are very different from those that arise if you just want to carry it to the next room, or pack it into the trunk of your car. What if you want to analyze their chemical composition? What if you want to construct and legally sell a thousand copies of one? In the absence of your plan for the object, you can't expect to agree on how complex it is. Perhaps you think that because your two objects are both disembodied computer programs in symbolic form, the comparison of complexity is easier. Nope. 'Pends on who is trying to do what to them. The skills and knowledge of the actors matter. The task to be undertaken matters. The environment in which the task will be performed matters. So? So don't even ask their complexity. Instead ask the questions that matter like, "How soon can YOU transform either of these into something that also does THIS?" Just because that is a question which potentially has an answer still doesn't mean that you'll find that answer, but now at least, you MIGHT be able to get one. And it MIGHT be right. -- Richard Karpinski, Nitpicker extraordinaire 148 Sequoia Circle, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Home: 707-546-6760 http://nitpicker.pbwiki.com/
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