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From: ken@argus.UUCP (Kenneth Ng)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: *\\"LDA\\" ok?
Message-ID: <1025@argus.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 29-Aug-87 05:11:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: argus.1025
Posted: Sat Aug 29 05:11:08 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Aug-87 09:23:13 EDT
References: <9042@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: NJ Instit. of Tech: TEIES Project
Lines: 26

In article <9042@brl-adm.ARPA>, dsill@NSWC-OAS.arpa (Dave Sill) writes:
> Would you call the changes in C from K&R to dpANS evolutionary?
> Biological evolution is on clock so slow that thousands of years are
> required to implement noticable change.

Biological evolution takes thousands of years?  How about the resistence
of insects to pesticides like DDT?  Granted some of the insects may have
already had the resistence, but I'd say that as a whole the insect
species has evolved to become resistent to it.

> Maybe if software had a mechanism for dying when it was past its prime
> we wouldn't have this problem.  Unfortunately, though, most people are
> too short sighted to see the benefits of periodic regeneration and try
> to maintain their software long after it should have been retired.

We're coming up on a mechanism to hopefully encourage the death of
antiquated software.  What percentage of the programs are going to
break when we reach the year 2000?  My optimism is tempered with
the sadened reality that most of these programs will just be patched
instead of given a decent bural and re-written.
> -Dave


Kenneth Ng: Post office: NJIT - CCCC, Newark New Jersey  07102
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