From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID,
	REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,9a0ff0bffdf63657
X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public
X-Google-Thread: f43e6,9a0ff0bffdf63657
X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public
X-Google-Thread: 103376,4b06f8f15f01a568
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public
X-Google-Thread: fac41,9a0ff0bffdf63657
X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public
From: ell@access.digex.net (Ell)
Subject: Re: Software landmines (loops)
Date: 1998/09/04
Message-ID: <35f95473.79218710@news.erols.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 387970277
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
References: <6rf59b$2ud$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <6sjnlu$83l$1@hirame.wwa.com>
 <o1fH1.543$495.1 <gwinn-0309982042490001@d8.dial-4.cmb.ma.ultra.net>
 <6spia2$1s36$1@prime.imagin.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Complaints-To: abuse@rcn.com
X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 904944400 23004 207.172.117.191 (4 Sep 1998
 21:26:40 GMT)
Organization: Universe
Mime-Version: 1.0
Reply-To: ell@access.digex.net
Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada
Date: 1998-09-04T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

smize@news.imagin.net (Samuel Mize) wrote:

[ Much good stuff elided.]
>I've always felt my institution (Kansas State University) did a really
>remarkable job of providing a sensible, pragmatic introduction to a
>lot of technologies.

Too bad about "sensible, pragmatic".  I realize the value of having
your feet on the ground sometimes, but that's not the best overall way
to view, approach, and live life as I see things.

Why be "grounded" when there is so much  to gain by going against the
grain, taking risks, making big leaps over always being evolutionary,
often making things unstable versus always striving for stability,
etc, etc.

For example rather than have classes depend on a so-called stable
abstraction, it might make a lot of sense to metamorphize a heavily
depended upon abstraction and to thereby metamorphize most, or some of
it's inheriting children.  In addition it might be best for clients
that depend on services from a heavily depended upon abstraction to
undergo change in order to accommodate the change in its server class
set, or hierarchy.

You can study history for yourself, but pragmatism rarely contributes
truly great ideas, nor does it consistently provide truly
_progressive_ changes in the world, or in even a single area of human
endeavor.

Down with pragmatism!  Up with hope!

Elliott