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From: schaut@cat9.cs.wisc.edu (Richard Schaut)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Changing Paradigms (Re: The Neverending Flame (war))
Message-ID: <4125@puff.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 20 Dec 89 02:29:56 GMT
References: <6767@tank.uchicago.edu> <1989Dec17.112127.27333@me.toronto.edu> <14960@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <7777@cbnewsm.ATT.COM> <3450@husc6.harvard.edu> <1989Dec19.152919.7284@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@puff.cs.wisc.edu
Reply-To: schaut@cat9.CS.WISC.EDU (Richard Schaut)
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 34

In the midst of the flame war, Doug McDonald said something that, I think,
touches on an idea that has been germinating in my head for the past few
months:

In article <1989Dec19.152919.7284@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Doug McDonald) writes:
| 
|   [Intelligence] is the ability to solve complicated problems by
| combining pieces of a solution, being able to see how to do a 
| given task by working with convenient pre-existing things. It is the
| same kind of task that high schoolers learn (well, I did) in 
| geometry (proving theorems), that freshmen learn in calculus
| class (doing a complicated integral by various tricks) and that I
| do in my business, solving problems in theoretical physics.

The current situation on both the Macs and the PCs is marked by the
existence of monolithic/do-everythin-immaginable programs.  Will the
advent of multitasking/multithreading OS' on both machines result in
a shift from the paradigm of the monolith to the paradigm of programs
built from small building blocks that the user can piece together to
fit his own needs?  If the interprocess communication facilities are
simple yet quick enough, we could see another revolution in the personal
computer industry.  The chances of this are even more enhanced by the
device independance built into both new systems.  The best thing about
such a shift is that everybody wins, especially the user.

I'm interested in what the rest of you think about this.  Also, since
this discussion is pertinant to both systems, I've left the cross-posting
untouched.


--
Rick

"Any questions?  Any answers?  Anyone care for a mint?" -- Rita Rudner