When the specification is defined by the program, it cannot have bugs.
Did he know Python already in the 80s?
The Tao of Programming (1987)
11–20 of 60 posts
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#12I really get 4.4 for some reason:
> True, sometimes there are difficult problems. I see them coming, I slow down, I watch silently. Then I change a single line of code and the difficulties vanish like puffs of idle smoke.
I've started to debug like this. Sure, I also actively debug by adding print statements and manipulating my code. But there's something to be said about just thinking and waiting for the answer.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#13> The Tao gave birth to machine language. Machine language gave birth to the assembler. The assembler gave birth to the compiler. Now there are ten thousand languages. Heh, nothing changed.
You left out the most important line in the whole treatise :)
> But do not program in COBOL if you can avoid it.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#14. http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html .
Another of my favorites.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#15I first read that on POTS with my '486 .
Just now, rocked and laughed just like Chris Griffin
when he noticed the Jingled keys. Thanks.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#16Ha! I first came across this verse (7.2) early in my career, circa 2001 or so, and it always stuck with me. > 7.2 In the East there is a shark which is larger than all other fish. It changes into a bird whose wings are like clouds filling the sky. When this bird moves across the land, it brings a message from Corporate Headquarters. This message it drops into the midst of the programmers, like a seagull making its ma…
Because the master can even hit the seagull with his Slingshot, that the Corp. H.Q. will not say anything to make him angry and make him think about the others H.Q.s that exist and make him wonder the salary there.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#17I bought a physical copy of this (still have it around somewhere) after reading many of the koans from /usr/bin/fortune
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#18nice, I haven't seen this in years. I really laughed at the bit about 'structured programming.' As it turns out, long ago, structured programming was a thing.
Install the fortune package on Linux, and add "fortune" to your .bashrc file. You'll see them occasionally.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#19> Only a fool expects rational behavior from his fellow humans. Why do you expect it from a machine that humans have constructed? Computers simulate determinism; only Tao is prefect.
Spelling as plot device, so underrated.
Re: The Tao of Programming (1987)
#20I prefer "The UNIX Koans of Master Foo" http://catb.org/esr/writings/unix-koans/