Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!daveb
From: daveb@geac.UUCP (David Collier-Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Comments in programs
Message-ID: <2565@geac.UUCP>
Date: 12 Apr 88 12:00:21 GMT
Article-I.D.: geac.2565
Posted: Tue Apr 12 08:00:21 1988
References: <2218@ttidca.TTI.COM> <3850008@wdl1.UUCP> <48869@sun.uucp> <38798UH2@PSUVM> <19359@think.UUCP>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (David Collier-Brown)
Organization: The G. Yac Co. Ltd. Inc. Pty. Etc.
Lines: 26


In article <19359@think.UUCP> fad@balder.think.com.UUCP (franklin a davis) writes:
> "The remarkable thing about his [Knuth's] example is the great ease
> the reader finds in following his elegant approach to creating this
> program.  Each piece is presented in the context in which it is
> relevant, and not before the other pieces that are necessary
> background are presented.  Knuth's ability to break the problem down
> into pieces is dazzling.  However, despite its clarity, the process
> left me feeling that I would have a hard time producing such elegant
> results, even if I had mastered Web."

  Well, it is hard, but one of the best techniques for writing WEB
(or anything else with a specific structure) is to use an outline
processor.
  I re-wrote some C code in tWEB by roughing up some pseudo-code for
it, shuffling the lines around in a so-called idea processor to get
a nice organization, and then sending the file back to the machine
with weave and tangle on it to finish.  The result looks rather like
it was designed in WEB, and I can assure you it **wasn't**.

  --dave (you can make a leather purse out of a sow's ear) c-b
-- 
 David Collier-Brown.                 {mnetor yunexus utgpu}!geac!daveb
 Geac Computers International Inc.,   |  Computer Science loses its
 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, |  memory (if not its mind) 
 CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 |  every 6 months.