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Quote from: Monsieur OUXXHowever, one must have a thorough and intimate understanding of the problem before it can be broken down into smaller parts. The essay describes the process through which most professionals gain such an understanding
.. a good programmer/designer is the one that will know how to break it down so that the project never ever ever relies on one single person..
Quote from: paulgraham.comIt also suggests a structured methodology of breaking a problem down in to smaller pieces
... They do more in their heads: they try to understand a problem space well enough that they can walk around it the way you can walk around the memory of the house you grew up in....
Quote from: paulgraham.comJust breaking a problem down any old way isn't very useful in my view.
You can magnify the effect of a powerful language by using a style called bottom-up programming, where you write programs in multiple layers, the lower ones acting as programming languages for those above. If you do this right, you only have to keep the topmost layer in your head.
Quote from: Monsieur OUXXThe essay does not say or suggest such a thing. You are mistaken to interpret the meaning in this way. The essay describes a programmer's thought process rather than his work product; they are two different things.
To a certain extent, the guy who has the perfect program in his head but can't share it with anybody (because if someone touches anything it will be broken or the inventor will stop mastering it) can even be considered a bad programmer.
Quote from: Monsieur OUXXInteresting that you make an analogy to building a machine. I shared the same essay with my mechanical engineering colleagues and all have said that they engage in a similar thought process when they design machines (yes machines as in custom manufacturing cells). Their work products are 3D Solid Works drawings rendered in 2D prints (blueprints & stuff). They tell me that before they commit their ideas to drawings they first have the ideas in their heads and that they are able visualize their designs in operation.
Let us never forget that a program is like a machine. If you build a machine on your own, without blueprint and stuff, you'll never be much more than a mad scientist. When the DeLorean got hit by a train, all got lost in a blink. Furthermore, had Doc hit his head before completion and forgotten the flux capacitor's design, all would have been lost too.
Quote from: Monsieur OUXX
I could even argue that the same thing can be said for mathematicians: If you find a theorem but don't bother explaining around, you suck. Let us remember Fermat's laziness. It took 3 centuries to prove his so-called "easy demonstration".
Quote from: paulgraham.comBut who would you argue with? Certainly not the essay! I don't know where you got this idea from; it didn't come from the essay so perhaps you already had it in your head and read the essay (I assume you did read it) with this bias and interpretation in mind.
All programmers know it's good to write readable code. But you yourself are the most important reader. Especially in the beginning; a prototype is a conversation with yourself. And when writing for yourself you have different priorities. If you're writing for other people, you may not want to make code too dense. Some parts of a program may be easiest to to read if you spread things out, like an introductory textbook. Whereas if you're writing code to make it easy to reload into your head, it may be best to go for brevity.
Quote from: paulgraham.com
Perhaps it will help if more people understand that the way programmers behave is driven by the demands of the work they do. It's not because they're irresponsible that they work in long binges during which they blow off all other obligations, plunge straight into programming instead of writing specs first, and rewrite code that already works. It's not because they're unfriendly that they prefer to work alone, or growl at people who pop their head in the door to say hello. This apparently random collection of annoying habits has a single explanation: the power of holding a program in one's head.
Quote from: paulgraham.com
A good programmer working intensively on his own code can hold it in his mind the way a mathematician holds a problem he's working on. Mathematicians don't answer questions by working them out on paper the way schoolchildren are taught to. They do more in their heads: they try to understand a problem space well enough that they can walk around it the way you can walk around the memory of the house you grew up in. At its best programming is the same. You hold the whole program in your head, and you can manipulate it at will. ...
QuoteYou are misinformed, below are a couple of links from Google.
... but wasn't there something about everything has to be open source or GPL or so under linux?
Quotehttp://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2012/10/valve-linux-more-viable-than-windows-8.html
Maybe it's because they expect to lose a lot of money from the build in Windows Store, but Valve has been moving a lot to help Linux gaming. Even if you don't game, you're getting the benefits from this, since they're putting pressure on the GPU manufacturers to get their drivers up to speed, and many Linux desktop environments are composited and use 3D acceleration (not sure about the lightweight ones, but KDE/GNOME/Unity are quite 3d heavy)
If Valve manages to make the big studios start releasing their games for Linux (and if they already release them for MacOSX, they should not have to do that much more work to get them working on Linux), Microsoft will start loosing revenue in a rapid fashion.
Desura will be the greatest looser here, because right now they are the only game in town for Linux gaming, but even they will benefit from more people using Linux to game, and from improved drivers.
By the way, the Unity 3d engine (not to be confused with the Unity desktop environment) already works under Linux, making porting to Linux much easier for those using it.
If Valve can make Linux the go to platform for high performance gaming (because the Linux kernel is superior when it comes to memory management, etc etc), then the Linux desktop will get a lot of new blood that will also use it for everyday tasks, thus reducing the monopoly hold on the younger generations. Linux has already won in embeded and server spaces. Once gaming falls our way (and I know more than one game that runs smoother on WinE than it does on Windows), <bright eyed wild hope>it will only be a matter of time until home desktop also goes that way. From there, Enterprise will eventually follow. After all, Enterprise already has all the tools it needs.</bright eyed wild hope>
QuoteTo do so the engine should be reimplemented on Java, HTML5, flash or something like that?Javascript+HTML5+CSS+Websockets
QuoteAt a talk given this morning at the Ubuntu Development Summit (UDS) which is currently taking place in Copenhagen, Drew Bliss from Valve Software has announced the beginning of Valve's beta test of its Steam client for Linux. As Canonical employees have reported on Google+, Valve has also given developers attending the summit access to the beta program. Other Linux users may fill out a hardware survey on the company's site to be considered for the program as well; a Steam account is required to fill out the survey.
To coincide with the beta, Valve has also opened a Steam community group for its Linux client. It is currently not known what titles will be supported by the beta but several games include hints to Linux support in their Content Description Record (CDR) which is included with software that is distributed via Steam. The CDRs for Portal, Team Fortress 2 and the Steam client itself explicitly mention a "Steam Linux UDS Beta", so it is likely that these two games will be included in the beta program.
Quote
CodeWeavers has kept to its "election promise" and, from 05:00 GMT this morning, has been allowing anyone who wants to download a copy of the Windows compatibility system for Linux or Mac OS X to get the product free-of-charge. CrossOver is a company that sells a commercial version of the WINE Windows compatibility software; this allows many Windows applications, including Microsoft Office and games, to run on Linux and Mac OS X by redirecting calls to Windows operating system functions to the underlying operating system's equivalent. As well as organising giveaways of its software, CodeWeavers also employs a number of WINE developers.
The free download offer will run for 24 hours and allows users to download a version with 12 months of email support and upgrades that normally costs £38. US citizens affected by power cuts from Superstorm Sandy and unable to participate will find a special Sandy page running from 1 November.
; like Aussies they're down under.
QuoteEric, congratulation and may I wish you the best of luck on your career path.
Not that I really have a dog in the fight, but as a former adjunct professor, and hopefully soon a tenure track professor,
QuoteThis made me laugh out loud and almost fall out of my chair
I have to say from experience that, unfortunately, "maturity" and "professional temperament" aren't always defining traits for folks in my profession. I've had my fair share of experience with some Ph.D.-holding loonies...and I don't mean the Canadian coin.
. All I can say "Point well made" and I stand (well actually partially sitting in my chair) corrected. 
