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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!marque!lakesys!mark
From: mark@lakesys.lakesys.com (Mark Storin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Changing Paradigms (Re: The Neverending Flame (war))
Message-ID: <1449@lakesys.lakesys.com>
Date: 21 Dec 89 05:40:25 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> <4125@puff.cs.wisc.edu>
Reply-To: mark@lakesys.UUCP (Mark Storin)
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Organization: Lake Systems - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Lines: 34

In article <4125@puff.cs.wisc.edu> schaut@cat9.CS.WISC.EDU (Richard Schaut) writes:
>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? 

	This sounds almost like what Unix started out as.  Software tools,
small programs that did one thing well, that could be combined to create more
complicated tools to solve inumerable problems. 
	People have complained about the complexity of learning to use
computers, but, like any other powerful tool, it takes time to master.  The
trend towards "do-everthing" programs is unfortunate as it stifles
creativity.  Granted, the process needs to be simplified and made less
cryptic.  From what I have been reading about strides in programing, it is
getting there.  Perhaps soon you will be able to drag tools across your
screen and connect them in ways simular to the way we write shell scripts
now.  I have read articles that have mentioned the idea of hooks and
interfaces into spreadsheets, databases, and the like, so that users could
write their own applications calling facilities from each of these.  
	The key to much of this is education.  If people are brought up on
computers, they will not find simple programming much more difficult than
math or science studies (it really isn't you know, in fact, I find it much
easier than trying to do complicated math).
	Personally, I hope this will be the trend.  My favorite OS is Unix
for the simple reason that it gives me the tools I need to build virtually
anything I need.


-- 
Mark A. Storin
Lake Systems, Milw., WI
mark@lakesys.lakesys.COM