Subject: Re: Coding style - a non-issue
To: yodaiken@fsmlabs.com (Victor Yodaiken)
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 13:38:11 +0000 (GMT)
Cc: alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk (Alan Cox),
        yodaiken@fsmlabs.com (Victor Yodaiken),
        torvalds@transmeta.com (Linus Torvalds),
        riel@conectiva.com.br (Rik van Riel), akpm@zip.com.au (Andrew Morton),
        lm@bitmover.com (Larry McVoy),
        phillips@bonn-fries.net (Daniel Phillips),
        hps@intermeta.de (Henning Schmiedehausen),
        jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com (Jeff Garzik), linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
In-Reply-To: <20011201061431.B31278@hq2> from "Victor Yodaiken" at Dec 01, 2001 06:14:31 AM
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From: Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>
Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org

> Recently, our correspondent from Wales wrote:
> 	... the changes have been done and
> 	tested one at a time as they are merged. Real engineering process is the
> 	only way to get this sort of thing working well.

Which doesn't conflict. Engineering does not require science. Science helps
a lot but people built perfectly good brick walls long before they knew why
cement works.

> All the alchemists ever managed to create were cases of mercury
> poisoning.

and chemistry, eventually. You take it as far more demeaning than its meant.

But right now given two chunks of code, I find out what happens by putting
them together not by formal methods. In the case of alchemy v chemistry the
chemists know whether it will probably go bang before they try it (and the
chemical engineers still duck anyway)

Alan

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