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=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_20,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-93" Subject: Re: What is wrong with OO ? Date: 1997/01/12 Message-ID: <97011215221883@psavax.pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 209399760 sender: Ada programming language comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU x-vms-to: SMTP%"INFO-ADA@VM1.NODAK.EDU" newsgroups: comp.lang.ada x-vms-cc: CONDIC Date: 1997-01-12T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Russ McClelland writes: >> > Near the beginning of "The Mythical Man Month" an interesting >> > observation is made: Since we so often hear about the stunning >> > success of one or two programmers working at the kitchen table, >> > why is it that all software is not written that way? Why is it that >> > corporations continue to build these crazy, wasteful, failure-prone >> > development departments when all they really needed to do was stuff >> > a couple of talented programmers in a garage for a few months? > >Ahh, some say a dated book...I say a book that should be manditory reading >for EVERY person involved in software development, from coders to managers >to CIOs. It should be read, discussed, studied, and read again every year >until it sinks in! > I liked the book, but I thought there was a certain sort of naivete to some of the concepts - especially this one. Yes, there is a large class of programs that can be built by a coding genius in a garage a lot better/faster/cheaper than by a team of average programmers sitting in Dilbert cubicles and forced to attend endless status meetings, etc. Especially where one needs to get particularly "creative" in inventing new and interesting solutions to a problem. But there is an even larger class of problems that by their very nature are going to demand that lots of people get together to build the software. (domain experts, software specialists, hardware designers, marketing dweebs, burnt out managers, etc. etc.) Not to mention the sheer magnitude of code involved in some of this stuff. (try typing out a million lines of *anything* and see how long it will take) And you're *never* going to get a whole team full of "A-String" players any more than the Dalas Cowboys will - there's only a few stars in the world by definition. So you're going to get stuck with some average, slow, error prone hackers and even a few clods who are a waste-of-skin and dumber than a bag of hammers. Once you get beyond 3 or 4 people working on a software project, you're going to get status meetings, turf wars, conflicting design goals, cost and schedule pressures, etc. etc. ad nauseam. And for those who believe there's a simple solution to it all, I'd refer them to the story of the Tower of Babel. I think it's inherent in all human endeavors that beyond a certain size, there's no way to do it without waste, errors, compromises, delays, and so on. (Of course, that's not what I tell my bosses - they have trained me with many and severe beatings how to read from The Book Of Devoutly To Be Desired Results ;-) MDC Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer ATT: 561.796.8997 M/S 731-96 Technet: 796.8997 Pratt & Whitney, GESP Fax: 561.796.4669 P.O. Box 109600 Internet: CONDICMA@PWFL.COM West Palm Beach, FL 33410-9600 Internet: CONDIC@FLINET.COM =============================================================================== "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ===============================================================================