Re: [Hardhats-members] == VistaWeb Missing Apps ==

[Gregory Woodhouse]

This is why I've never been very enamored of the original name of VistA, Decentralized Hospital Computer System (DHCP). It wasn't decentralized at all, but rather each DHCP system was one of a number of independent, facility level systems. An ant colony is an example of a decentralized system: there is no centralized control, yet the colony is able to work together to accomplish a common task. Unfortunately, this false dichotomy has continued to plague VistA and the continued development of VistA. Far too often, centralized solutions (either data or control, or both) are thought to be the only alternative to completely independent application instances having no ability to work together effectively. There is, of course, another option, one that has been explored in a limited way, but not yet fully realized, that is to build loosely coupled systems that are, at once, decentralized an integrated (at the functional level). === Gregory Woodhouse [EMAIL PROTECTED] "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement  of everyday thinking."  -- Albert Einstein On Jun 10, 2005, at 2:30 PM, Sowinski, Richard J. wrote: oe, your note title example can be explained in this way. For years Vista was used in a standalone manner. Each site, was essentially an island, that could create it's own note titles, lab test names, etc.   Then, software like RDV's and Vistaweb came along, and exposed (everyday) the fact that people used different terms at different sites, for essentially the same data.   This is not a software problem, it's a data problem. It's an artifact of making what was essentially a standalone system, into a networked system.   It's cure, is standardization work. Unfortunately that work can be tedious and not as glorious as other work, which is why it has been a slow starter. But sooner or later that work will get done, and Vista will be around for awhile.