SCOUG-Programming Mailing List Archives

<< Previous Message << >> Next Message >>

Date:	Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:45:38 PST8
From:	"Lynn H. Maxson" <lmaxson@pacbell.net >
Reply-To:	scoug-programming@scoug.com
To:	< "scoug-programming@scoug.com" > scoug-programming@scoug.com >
Subject:	SCOUG-Programming: Off We Go......

Content Type: text/plain

Steven,

You were doing well with respect to Uncle Lynn until "The
question is how much, if any, of the details the tool will
expose to the developer. Lynn's goal appears to be for the
development system to be essentially black box." I take it
from the prison guard in Hud that, "What we have here is a
classic failure to communicate."

I propose one open source, self-defining, self-extensible,
universal programming/specification language. I further
propose one open source tool written in the language. The
tool contains within it an open source database manager,
ultimately also written in the language. At the successful
conclusion of the completeness proof of the two stage proof
engine the "programmer" has the option of producing any of
the different output forms available from existing CASE tools,
applicable to both the tool and language source. That plus
the fact of the "backtracking" mechanism builtin to every
fourth generation two-stage proof system, which will not only
show you the logical paths in either the tool or language
source, but also the reasons for any particular branch off any
path.

Granted that the software is responsible for several orders of
magnitude more of automatic writings of analysis, design, and
construction than current "manual" IDEs based on
third-generation languages. Thus the programmer can just do
what the software cannot and the software what the
programmer need not. You may regard this shift to software
generation of documentation as something of a black box, but
I regard any system, particularly any software development
system, capable of documenting itself fully and thus lending
itself to easier learning and understanding by the
"programmer" less of a "black box" than current IDEs.

Sometimes we forget that the purpose of open source lay in
freeing the individual from dependence on other sources
should he or she decide to deviate in some other direction.
You can't have that freedom if you perceive the source either
in volume or complexity beyond your capabilities either in
terms of skill, available time, or effort. You don't have to
have Greg count the number of statements in jEdit or VIM or
the build structure of Open Watcom to know how daunting
the task appears of, one, understanding, and, two,
successfully undertaking changes on your own.

While we may not successfully get into the comfort zone of
every user, we do have a choice to significantly increase the
number by improving the tools and simplifying, i.e. automating,
the writing/rewriting process along with the different source
languages. Rather than assume either the willingness or need
to accept the current tools and methodology, which obviously
you and Greg have undertaken, I choose to offer an easier,
more digestable option.

I have no reason to believe that the path I have laid out,
based as far as I know on existing technology, will not reduce
the barriers for users' entry into open source as contributors.
That reduction of effort to an absolute minimum remains my
goal in what I propose.

I want to see open source work, particularly for the OS/2
community. I don't want to see open source as currently
implemented work against expansion of contributors. I want
individuals to have the freedom inherent in the promise of
open source.

=====================================================

To unsubscribe from this list, send an email message
to "steward@scoug.com". In the body of the message,
put the command "unsubscribe scoug-programming".

For problems, contact the list owner at
"postmaster@scoug.com".

=====================================================

Return to [ 15 | March | 2006 ]

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.