Xref: utzoo comp.software-eng:3128 comp.lang.c:26730 comp.lang.misc:4382 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think!linus!munck From: munck@linus.UUCP (Robert Munck) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.misc Subject: Re: problems/risks due to programming language Message-ID: <101567@linus.UUCP> Date: 9 Mar 90 13:21:36 GMT References: <6960@internal.Apple.COM> <259@eiffel.UUCP> <53012@microsoft.UUCP> Reply-To: munck@linus.UUCP (Robert Munck) Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford MA Lines: 25 I wonder if others have noticed that there's a single strong divisor in this thread, separating it into two warring groups. It corresponds roughly to the C/Ada division, also C/anti-C and anti-Ada/Ada. Basically, it's the "world view" that programming is a solitary activity or a communal one. That is, that programming is done by one person, with little or no contact with others, or that it's done by a group of some size, in constant close contact and also spread out in time and space. That dicotomy obviously splits the university crowd from the military- industrial crowd; universities have the problem that cooperative work is called "cheating" in most other areas, so it's difficult for them to take any other approach to s/w eng. The m-i complex people have the problem that they cannot take the risk of entrusting a project to a single or small number of people because of the possibilities that they will be hit by a bus, poisoned at the local Chinese restaurant, or leave the company. I don't know how the differences can be reconciled. -- Bob Munck, MITRE ==> Unisys (STARS) -- -- Bob , linus!munck.UUCP -- MS Z676, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA 22120 -- 703/883-6688