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From: jls@rutabaga.Rational.COM (Jim Showalter)
Newsgroups: comp.object
Subject: Re: Documenting OO Systems
Keywords: operators
Message-ID: <jls.670541848@rutabaga>
Date: 1 Apr 91 21:37:28 GMT
References: <jls.669768656@rutabaga> <299@orbit.gtephx.UUCP> <1991Mar25.145441.1@happy.colorado.edu> <20106@alice.att.com> <3481@engadm3.csd.mot.com> <DWWX.91Mar25215016@cbnewsk.ATT.COM> <jls.669956827@rutabaga> <1991Mar26.191259.14470@i88.isc.com> <4693@osc.COM> <jl
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>	4. The original poster did  mean that the  *one* who write the
>code is able to understand what the computer will do of it, *NOT* that
>anyone is  able to  tell at  the first glance  what someone else write
>down.

Precisely my point. 50% of all programming done in this country is
maintenance. Of that, how much do you suppose is done by the original
programmer? Code not deliberately written to be as readable as possible
by others is evidence of bad instincts run amok, and part of the reason
software maintenance costs so much (any managers out there want to show
a higher profit?--encourage better programming technique).

>	5. I hope that the "incredibly smart people" have some more
>substantial opinion in the "realm of software engineering" over those
>they have passed to you.

Parnas, Dijkstra, Humphrey, Denning, Booch, Goodenough, Turing, VonNeuman,
Godel, Devlin, etc etc etc.

Who do YOU listen to?

>I will not answer to more than one follow up to this since I've more important things to do in my spare time.

Debugging, perhaps? ;-)
--
***** DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed herein are my own, except in
      the realm of software engineering, in which case I've borrowed
      them from incredibly smart people.