I wonder if my post last night emphasizing the difference between
uncertainty and non-determinism (and the similarities which I think
tend to go unnoticed) wasn't a might too philosophical. It reminds me
of a time a week or so ago when I was sitting in a cafe reading a
book about provability and a woman started a conversation with me (it
turned out that she was a philosophy student at UC Berkeley).
Immediately, I could see the look in her friend's face: "Oh no! Not
again!" Ever since then, I've been wondering if some formal training
in philosophy might, perhaps ironically, turn out to provide useful
background for parts of computer science, if not software
development. As strange as that sounds, I believe that thinking about
the nature of the task of developing software really can help to make
one a better programmer. I can hear it now: This guy is bonkers!
Maybe so, but as a simple example, one question we would do well to
ask ourselves a little more often is, What am I REALLY doing here?
Basic design questions, such as whether a variable pointer (or
multiple inheritance) is the right way to solve a given problem often
hinge on the answer to a question such as this. and theoretical as it
may seem early on, it doesn't take much time trying to support or
enhance the code you've written before it becomes clear that the
question was really a practical one, after all.
===
Gregory Woodhouse
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Design quality doesn't ensure success, but design failure can ensure
failure."
--Kent Beck
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