On Sun, Aug 20, 2000 at 12:41:58PM -0700, kort wrote:
> As a reluctant windoze developer newly encountering the Linux
> learning curve, I may have a few useful observations to
> contribute.
> <<A long and reasoned discussion of the difficulty of using Linux/Unix, and
> most software documentation>>
I've been in this field for a quarter-century; I've lived through mainframes,
CP/M, Unix, Linux, MS/PC-DOS...
One of the worst things Microsoft has done is to promulgate the idea that
an operating system can be trivialized. Not the Mac, not Windows, NONE of
these can make what is inherently a complex tool trivial.
TOOL RULES: Be it a software package or an operating system:
o If it's flexible and powerful, it WILL require some effort to learn.
o If it's trivial to use, it's flexibility and capabilities have to be
restricted.
Similarly for documentation: There is a point beyond which you
_cannot_ simplify the material. Whether you're learning multiplication
or differential calculus, if you're going to understand it there is
some body of prior knowledge you have to master. If a tool is
powerful, its complexity increases.
Mac and Windows advocates have claimed for 20 years now that this isn't
so. And they haven't been able to make it trivial by just saying so.
Both environments have restrictions--assumptions made by the developers
for your own good, because to do otherwise would make it "too
complex".
That said--I don't believe we, as developers, should stop trying to make
systems more intuitive. We should continually strive to make installation
and maintenance more responsive and sensible. But we should never lose sight
of the fact that we are necessarily dealing with a complex topic.
Cheers,
--
Dave Ihnat
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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