Re: A Parable of Two Carpenters

From: The Half A Wannabee (ShakainZulu_AT_Ozzy_DMX_ODB_&_C_NowWhereToRun_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 11/25/03 

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 05:54:02 +0100

"John lauman" <qual1@midlands.net> wrote in message
news:bpucs3$jsj$2@news.netins.net...
> I've seen 40 million dollar projects using C++ get thrown out the window
> after years of development because they don't work.
>
YES! Thats the truth. And why is that? Its because they work with the code
base of someone else, trusting the logic of someone else, in a new context.
They are NON-Spesific.

> Because people assumed that C++ was the best thing since sliced bread.
> They just forgot to look at the logic. What does logic have to do with
> programming anyway.
>
Just about everything. The problem seem allways that if you create a program
100% logical
and effective, you might as well just burn it to a chip, and make it run
like hell.

But then it will become a pain to change it, when your ideamakers like it,
and want to
add to it. So therefore you plan ahead to make such changes easier to
implement into
existing codebase. Theres the source of the problems. Not the programmers in
the first
place, but all the changes to the existing code.

> Now what can C++ do better than HLA or assembler. How do you define
> better. Less to type?

In prinsipal, the language is really not a question at all. Just plan out
the logic
and then pick any language, with propper knowledge any programming.language
would do.
But languages most often make people/programmers adapt to thinking in a
certain way.
Because...well we are "lazy". Thats why thinking spesific, generic, non-hll,
seems the best
way, but the most expensive too..in the short run...But in the long run.....

> Get your inheritence chart out.
>
> I deeply disagree with your statements.
>
> Examples of a logical nature would be appreciated.

Logic is great. Computers are really basically very simple. What makes them
look not so simple
is when you build all theese pieces of ADDED logic, all which should depend
on each other.
My own codebase are now grown to a size where I find sometimes pieces of
code that
I no longer remember I created .....

My philosofy would be that to take a Spesific route, by doing it all
yourself, from scratch.
In order to overcome the time barrier, make the code from scratch, but also
make the code so
flexible and unlimited that you never have to look at it again. If possible.
And reusable.
Places where code should not be resuable or flexible for speed reasons,
refactor thoose
per project. Build a house slowly, piece by piece.

Example. The win32 scrollbar object is (still????) 16 bit. Making it 16 bit
causes problems when
e.g you want to softscroll a large document. You run out of resoultion.
If you make it 64bit from the start you will never ever have to bother with
that logic
again. Ever. Since having a resolution like that, you could real-scroll a
Movie, frame
by frame (100 nanoseconds), and still have plenty of resolution left.

All/many MFC/VCL objects have such limitations within them. These basic
objects are
the building blocks of the VCL. Sooner or later it will make you tear your
hair
out, cause suddenly you're in situation where you need more power, and then
you must rewrite or even dump the old code. When you start dumping objects
you find that you/they have allready infiltrated most of you code. You must
dump most of your code.

If you do this relentlessly with all things you make, you should run into
fewer problems.
But you HAVE to write it all from scratch. It will take much less time than
to understand
the other peoples code.

Problem with reading other peoples code, you will take much longer time to
master it
completely. Cause you will only study it to the point where you know how to
make use of it.
When you write it yourself you will master it much faster, gain more
knowledge.
This knowledge will come to the rescue later and then save more time ect.

>
> John Lauman
>
>
> The_Sage wrote:
> >>Reply to article by: "Randall Hyde" <randyhyde@earthlink.net>
> >>Date written: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 22:31:19 GMT
> >>MsgID:<Xmwvb.10027$n56.3155@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>
> >
> >
> >>This is a tale of two carpenters.
> >>One walked the Earth 2,000 years ago,
> >>One mocks others' work today.
> >
> >
> > What a curious delusion...not quite unlike the apparent delusion that
HLA is
> > going to become "the world's most popular assembler", even thought HLA
> > technically isn't an assembler and there isn't anything that HLA can do
that C++
> > can't do better (and even more things that C++ can do that HLA can't do
at all).
> >
> > The Sage
> >
> > =============================================================
> > My Home Page : http://members.cox.net/the.sage
> >
> > "Toward no crimes have men shown themselves so cold-bloodedly
> > cruel as in punishing differences in belief"
> > -- James Russell Lowell
> > =============================================================
>

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