Re: Crosspost: Help wanted from comp.compilers

[Jeffrey Carter <spam@spam.com>]

John R. Strohm wrote:
> 
> Now, it was EASY to build systems that had horrendous recompilation
> problems.  Usually, in order to build such a system, you had to screw up
> some fairly basic software engineering things.  For example, if you build a
> system-wide "types" package, then every time you touch that package, you get
> to recompile the world.  If you build a system-wide "magic numbers" package,
> same problem.  Observe that the exact same problems arise in C/C++.  The
> answer is, of course, DON'T DO THAT.

These are fairly benign problems. I know of at least one current DoD 
project that has a system-wide "variables" package. This software is 
flying in a state-of-the-art military aircraft. Not only do most 
upgrades involve modifying this package, and hence recompiling the 
entire system, but the system is 100% coupled with 0% cohesion. 
Understanding the system from scratch is at least as expensive as 
redesigning and rewriting the entire system; that's the choice they will 
face if the couple of developers, who have been there from the beginning 
and have the entire system in their heads, ever quit or are killed going 
out to lunch together.

-- 
Jeff Carter
"I spun around, and there I was, face to face with a
six-year-old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and
walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass."
Blazing Saddles