** Reply to message from "Bob La Quey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:34:50 -0700
> On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 5:42 AM, Todd Walton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 2:34 PM, Bob La Quey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Agreed. Let's try and figure out what programming is, > > > and what problem it is trying to solve. I would be > > > satisfied with a decent statement of that. > > > > Translating? Making human wants known to the machine. Successfully > > writing out what you want the machine to do, in the machine's > > language. So, programming is inherently functional. We don't program > > computers to tell them we love them or just to say, "I had a good > > day". We program to make something happen. Programming is action. > > > > Though I suppose sometimes, when we program, we're just stating facts. > > But always facts relevant to what we're about to tell the computer to > > do. > > > > So... programming is telling a machine what to do? Seems pretty > > straightforward. > > > > > > > > -todd > > If it is so straight forward then why is it so hard to do? > > I think it is because we do not know how to do it well. > Which goes back to the fact that despite your statement > do not know what it is we are trying to do or how to do it. > > BobLQ > Defining the problem is a very large part of the problem since doing even the simplest of things requires many many minute details at the programming level be exact. But, like building a 20 story building, planning planning and more planning is required to actually do it right IF THE PROBLEM IS DEFINED. But just try and use a design methodology like applied UML modeling and after a couple of months designing, management will come down on you for not coding and some developers will do the same. IMO, these two things have more to do with why software is so often over budget and problematic at best if it is delivered. That and the fact that there are almost no software architects in the market since it is not taught or encouraged. So did I miss something, cause this thread/posting seemed to come out of the blue? Doug -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
