Engineering Procedure

[SlideRule]

Seen by many: enjoyed by a few; understood by ?
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BEST!
SlideRule

[Garth Wilson]

I imagine it's understood by most people on this forum.

An hour-long video about the oberon language has a couple of quotes I really liked (at around 36 minutes into in, give or take):

• Programs must not be regarded as code for computers, but as literature for humans.
• Reducing size and complexity is the triumph.

[toml_12953]

(08-03-2019 06:25 PM)Garth Wilson Wrote:  I imagine it's understood by most people on this forum.

• Programs must not be regarded as code for computers, but as literature for humans.
• Reducing size and complexity is the triumph.

Most places I worked use these criteria:

• Programs must not be understandable by anyone else. Your job security depends on this.
• We get paid by the number of lines of code we generate. Why use ADD YEAR-1 TO YEAR-2 GIVING YEAR-3 when you can create many sub-expressions first?
  

[Alex S]

(08-03-2019 06:25 PM)Garth Wilson Wrote:  I imagine it's understood by most people on this forum.

An hour-long video about the oberon language has a couple of quotes I really liked (at around 36 minutes into in, give or take):

• Programs must not be regarded as code for computers, but as literature for humans.
• Reducing size and complexity is the triumph.

Underneath Niklaus Wirths heading "What have I learnt?" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXY78gPMvl0&t=1975s you can find:

• Writing a program is difficult
• Writing a correct program is even more so
• Writing a publishable program is exacting
• Programs are not written. They grow!
• Controlling growth needs much discipline
• Reducing size and complexity is the triumph
• Programs must not be regarded as code for computers, but as literature for humans
  

Great and humble insights from a real genius.

[pier4r]

Thanks for sharing.

From my experience complexity (or unreadability) comes from (a) vanity or (b) incompetence. In the case (b) the one writing something complex or redundant or verbose, doesn't realize how to make it simpler.

For me a program/math model can be even long, but it is easy to read, change, update, understand.