Re: The great Java showcase (re: 2nd historic mistake)

[dnew@zloty.fv.com (Darren New)]

In article <5ue2sn$32g$2@miranda.gmrc.gecm.com>,
Paul Johnson <paul.johnson@gecm.com> wrote:

>I think it is quite reasonable to assert that "technical" superiority is
>a real concept, and that it is separate from market success.  Conflating
>these two concepts is dangerous.

Especially when the product being considered is a technical product
used by technical people, like a programming language or environment,
CM tools, etc. 

In these cases, I think it's often more of "how fast can I get
acceptably effective" as it is "how effective can I get in a given
time period".  These two can be quite different numbers, especially
when "acceptable effectiveness" is low enough and there's previous
experience involved.  E.g., I can be acceptably effective with K&R C
in many ways, even if spending a month learning Ada would make me 20
times as effective at the technical aspects of my job. In many cases, 
these types of decisions are made by default, or by managers also
considering the costs of tools without considering the costs of lack of
productivity from cheaper tools.

  --Darren