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From: "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Artistically creative expression has no role in software design
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:20:56 +0200
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On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 13:46:58 -0500, Marc A. Criley wrote:

> (Okay, now that I have your attention... :-)

A very interesting reading. Thanks!

> One of the interesting conclusions of this paper is this:
> 
> "Since the design of computer software is forever driven by its intended
> functionality and efficiency concerns, the room for artistically creative
> expression never arises...."

Q1: Is design always driven by functionality and efficiency concerns?

Another quote from the paper:

"The most significant doctrine limiting the copyrightability of works is
the idea-expression dichotomy.25 It holds that the aim of copyright law is
to protect an idea's expression, not the idea itself."

Q2: Can a particular program express an idea?

Q3: Can a program design express an idea?

[Amateur: Seems Q2 and not Q3. So programs (code) can be copyrighted,
design cannot?]

Yet another quote:

"Furthermore, a computer program is not intended to be read or understood
by its target audience. While people trained in software may read the
source code of computer programs, this is done for no other purpose than to
understand how the programs work."

Q4: What about UML and other languages intended for solely human readers?

[Amateur: Documents written in those languages are not programs?]

> After you get past the knee-jerk reaction to Heer's conclusion (which I'll
> admit to), sit back and really think about software, its function, and how
> to achieve _correctness_ and _efficiency_ in design and programming.
> Software development starts to become less about creative expression, and
> more like a quest, trying to find the elegant implementation of
> functionality.

Sure, software design becomes engineering, CS becomes a science...

-- 
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de