Re: Dijkstra and Perl (was Re: Breaking out of nested subroutine?)

From: David Combs (dkcombs_at_panix.com)
Date: 08/07/04 

Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 02:57:04 +0000 (UTC)

In article <slrncgted8.i4t.abigail@alexandra.abigail.nl>,
Abigail <abigail@abigail.nl> wrote:
>Greg Bacon (gbacon@hiwaay.net) wrote on MMMCMLXXXIX September MCMXCIII in
><URL:news:10gsekdbaqjrpa1@corp.supernews.com>:
>}} In article <slrncgoacb.6hs.abigail@alexandra.abigail.nl>,
>}} Abigail <abigail@abigail.nl> wrote:
>}}
>}} : [...]
>}} : BTW, I've no doubt that Mr. Dijkstra would have the same dim opinion
>}} : about Perl as a language as he had for 'goto' as a statement.
>}}
>}} I'm sure you're right, but I'd be interested in seeing more about why
>}} you think so.
>
>
>That's mostly based on memories when I was still doing research at a
>university where a lot of the members of the staff were Dijkstra adepts,

  Cornell? (David Gries et al were often part of his entourage,
   and I imagine that they also worshiped him as a god.)

>and his (handwritten (!)) notes were faxed, copied and distributed among
>staff members, who were supposed to study them as if it was a gospel. I
>still think that there was a shrine dedicated to him in the small room
>that was always closed.

Years (eons) ago I attended two years of cs summer-schools
at UC-Santa-Cruz,
4 weeks long, I think it was, and (just about ) *all* the "biggies"
were there as guest lecturers or ran entire courses.

E.D. was there, complete with entire entourage from both
Amsterdam and Cornell (via Gries).

Dijkstra was of course an extremely smart guy, a genius, even,
and wanted everyone, it seemed, to know it.

Once I recall him, before class, elaborating on how he rarely
made mistakes, and as an example told us how he developed
as a letter-writer.

He decided that he was spending far too much time in rewriting,
and in correcting eg spelling errors, so he decided to
switch to indelible ink. Any mistake, and he had to
rewrite the whole letter. Soon, he said, he learned
to make *no* errors, *ever*, in letters he wrote --
saying that in much the same voice and with the same
body stance that maybe De Gaulle would have done.

(You get idea?)

Anyway, he was well known for his I-am-a-genius
perceived-by-us attitude.

Now, he had an unusual style of script he used,
quite recognizable, and apparently unique. Also
well known and commented upon.

Anyway, once (also years ago) I was visiting someone
(maybe hanging-around better describes it), and
on the wall in someone's office, or maybe it was
on his door?, was a page of "Dijkstra-writing"
that was not only in his unique handwriting, but
in his also-unique way of speaking (often, about
himself).

It was a parody, but beautiful, really nailed him.

What was interesting to me was how they got the
handwriting. Turns out, they had designed a
new postscript font, "Dijkstra", and then written
this parody using it.

Maybe it's still around someone, floating on the net...

Pretty funny stuff!

David