Hi Trevor!
But sometimes it can look that way (if you write a few simple error-free
lines and no one tries to change it.)
....and if you write those lines of code in a vacuum! ;-)
My point about "simple programming" is that, over the years, I have observed
that people who do not write software get the impression that certain things
are simple, simply because they do not present a complex user interface.
This is akin to someone who watches a ballet dancer apparently performing
effortlessly, and gets the idea that ballet must be easy to learn. As you
and I know, it takes years and years of practice for that ballet dancer to
present the *illusion* that what they are doing is easy.
In fact, there is an inverse relationship between the simplicity of use of
software, and the difficulty in developing it. This is due to the fact that
for software to be easy to use, it must do more of the logical work
independently of the user.
Part of the misconception arises from the fact that humans have no idea how
intelligent we really are. Things which we can resolve almost instantly and
instinctively are actually quite complex, and we are simply not aware of the
complexity of the underlying thought that performs the calculation. Take
throwing a ball, for instance. Most of us do not remember when we were
infants, and simply grasping a ball was an extraordinarily difficult task.
To throw one with any accuracy involves literally tens of thousands of
calculations, as we coordinate the muscles in our arms and body, calculate
the distance, the weight of the ball, and the amount of force to impel the
ball to its target. Computers are immensely stupid by comparison. They must
be instructed down to the last detail, accounting for every possible
permutation of the combinations of causes and effects involved in a process,
or the program fails.
As a seasoned programmer, I grimace whenever I hear that word! ;-)
Hey what ?
Is this the chicken salad surgery ?
I can't decipher it, but that is probably the idea
)
Ambiguity has a certain quality to it!
I'll part the curtain just a wee bit. It is not the things we understand
that entertain us, that draw and hold our attention. It is the things we do
not understand, particularly when those things seem to be within reach of
understanding, perhaps with a bit of problem-solving involved. There's an
old saying in the Entertainment business: Always leave them wanting more!
--
HTH,
Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Chicken Salad Surgery
Orange you bland I stopped splaying bananas?
Trevor L. said:
Kevin said:
I might add that "simple programming" is an oxymoron. ;-)
Well, yes.
But sometimes it can look that way (if you write a few simple error-free
lines and no one tries to change it.)
Orange you bland I stopped splaying bananas?
Hey what ?
Is this the chicken salad surgery ?
I can't decipher it, but that is probably the idea
)
--
Cheers,
Trevor L.
[ Microsoft MVP - FrontPage ]
MVPS Website:
http://trevorl.mvps.org/
