On 7/27/06, Jason Stephenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The MySpace "worm" does highlight something important: Programmers
keep making the same stupid mistakes, over and over and over and over
and over again.
As a programmer, I can tell you why. Most programmers are not well
versed in the art or the science (if there really is any) of programming.
Indeed. From what I've seen, most aspects of computing are not
approached with any kind of engineering discipline. That includes not
only traditional programming, but software design, data design, UI
design, integration, systems management, etc. People just throw stuff
together and hope it works. Small wonder that things fall down so
often.
This can also be applied to help requests and problem solving. I'm
amazed at how often, when I ask a colleague for a cause/solution
summary on a trouble case, they can't give a coherent answer. They
don't really understand what was wrong, how or why it happened, or
what they did to fix it. Which usually leads to them fixing the same
problem over and over again. Heck, most of the human history seems to
involve this syndrome.
In the commercial realm of closed source
software most programmers only get to see the code of the project(s) to
which they are assigned. They never get to see much code that's better
or worse than what they are used to seeing.
I think you've got a very good point there. Not just the code,
either, but the whole experience. Learning a FOSS project means you
have to learn the data structures and program flow of someone else's
code. You get to appreciate the value of good design and good
comments/documentation, and/or see how hard the lack of same makes
picking up a project. You also get to see, first hand, how software
evolves over time, and the consequences of bad work. You also see how
abuses and bad assumptions lead to software failures in the field.
Wow. This is actually pretty deep stuff. Another benefit of FOSS.
I haven't seen this particular angle "sold" before. Wow. This is a
huge point. FOSS is good because it improves the overall quality of
software *everywhere*.
-- Ben
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