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From: steves@ncr-sd.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Architect's Trap
Message-ID: <1400@ncr-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
Date: Mon, 2-Mar-87 16:34:51 EST
Article-I.D.: ncr-sd.1400
Posted: Mon Mar  2 16:34:51 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Mar-87 21:25:17 EST
Organization: NCR Corporation, Rancho Bernardo
Lines: 41



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			Extracted from "What Price Smalltalk?",
			Dave Ungar and Dave Patterson, UC Berkeley,
			IEEE Computer, Jan 87
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The Architects Trap -

After completing a careful and clean design,
architects want to improve it with many new ideas.

Each idea:

-	is clever
-	makes a particular operation much faster

BUT, each idea:

-	increases design and simulation time
-	does not significantly improve overall performance.

A software solution proves to be superior to a hardware solution
in every facet except speed.

Falling into architect's traps will delay a project,
making it less attractive to other competing machines,
since it is unlikely that all competing proijects will
face the same delays.

The bait of the architect's trap is your own ingenuity,
but the trap ensnares the whole project,
not just the fool who springs it.

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 Comments ?
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 Steve Schlesinger
 NCR - San Diego