Comments on: I Can Outrun a 767 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/ Longer than a blog; shorter than a book Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:45:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: When procedures do matter..and when it does not « Independent Brains http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-954838 When procedures do matter..and when it does not « Independent Brains Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:21:54 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-954838 [...] This one is great!! Yes you can ‘outrun-a-767′ You can’t get a picture, when you’re inside the frame. [...] [...] This one is great!! Yes you can ‘outrun-a-767′ You can’t get a picture, when you’re inside the frame. [...]

]]> By: HEEL LIFTS http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-452680 HEEL LIFTS Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:45:04 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-452680 Excellent work. You have gained a new subscriber. I hope you keep up the good work and I eagerly await more of the absorbing posts. Excellent work. You have gained a new subscriber. I hope you keep up the good work and I eagerly await more of the absorbing posts.

]]> By: Gewinnspiel http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-200951 Gewinnspiel Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:53:53 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-200951 OK, so what about the analogy, in other words, what is weather, terrain and surface in the software development world? Perhaps surface could translate to technology, e.g. mud is legacy code, a frozen river is a homogenous environment for which one very suitable technology exists, like Fortran for numeric code, and the outbacks represent a mixed environment? Perhaps the weather could translate to organisational/human aspects, with heavy snow meaning a lot of resistance and little possibility to see far ahead. OK, so what about the analogy, in other words, what is weather, terrain and surface in the software development world? Perhaps surface could translate to technology, e.g. mud is legacy code, a frozen river is a homogenous environment for which one very suitable technology exists, like Fortran for numeric code, and the outbacks represent a mixed environment? Perhaps the weather could translate to organisational/human aspects, with heavy snow meaning a lot of resistance and little possibility to see far ahead.

]]> By: David Sands http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-121627 David Sands Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:10:49 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-121627 I have an interesting anecdote from a late friend of mine. Apparently, during the war they were loading bombs onto a plane. Alas one of them dropped onto the tarmac. Everybody fled the scene post haste. My friend was flat out in a jeep when someone overtook him on a bicycle! Regards David I have an interesting anecdote from a late friend of mine. Apparently, during the war they were loading bombs onto a plane. Alas one of them dropped onto the tarmac. Everybody fled the scene post haste. My friend was flat out in a jeep when someone overtook him on a bicycle!
Regards David

]]> By: Mike Smith http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-82163 Mike Smith Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:48:04 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-82163 I can believe that of a thoroughbred overbred for short races, but is that true for a more normal working horse like cowboys ride? I can believe that of a thoroughbred overbred for short races, but is that true for a more normal working horse like cowboys ride?

]]> By: Vichy http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-75181 Vichy Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:46:55 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-75181 "It’s like noticing that you walked to the corner store faster than you could drive, and therefore deciding to walk to Tierra del Fuego. Sure you could do it, and you could develop a million-lines-of-code enterprise system without source code control or unit tests–but it’s going to take you hundreds of times longer, and require a lot more pain and effort." Excellent! “It’s like noticing that you walked to the corner store faster than you could drive, and therefore deciding to walk to Tierra del Fuego. Sure you could do it, and you could develop a million-lines-of-code enterprise system without source code control or unit tests–but it’s going to take you hundreds of times longer, and require a lot more pain and effort.”

Excellent!

]]> By: Nikolas http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-52322 Nikolas Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:39:02 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-52322 Sweet :) Sweet :)

]]> By: Joachim Zobel http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-33368 Joachim Zobel Mon, 27 Nov 2006 22:19:50 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-33368 Actually the distribution of projects by size is in my experience very far away from being linear. The vast majority of projects are small. The Microsoft empire is built on this. I disagree that the usefulness of source control is related to project size. It is more related to project duration (that bug has been in for half a year and nobody noticed). Actually the distribution of projects by size is in my experience very far away from being linear. The vast majority of projects are small. The Microsoft empire is built on this.

I disagree that the usefulness of source control is related to project size. It is more related to project duration (that bug has been in for half a year and nobody noticed).

]]> By: Jonas http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-28340 Jonas Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:33:57 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-28340 As soon as unit testing enters a project there's (or at least should be) two independent implementations of each interface ... As soon as unit testing enters a project there’s (or at least should be) two independent implementations of each interface …

]]> By: Hallvard Trætteberg http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/comment-page-1/#comment-26857 Hallvard Trætteberg Fri, 03 Nov 2006 08:53:47 +0000 http://cafe.elharo.com/programming/i-can-outrun-a-767/#comment-26857 I liked the analogy, too. E.g., I usually take my bike to work, it takes 4 minutes down and 6 up, while it takes at least 10 to drive and 17 to walk. However, there's more to a travel than distance. A couple of days ago, we experienced the season's first snow, and before I have changed the tyres (on both bike and car) it's better to walk. When there's a lot of snow and I have to wear a thick jacket, going uphill home is too exhausting, so I prefer walking. On longer travels in the terrain, skis are fastest (and often the only possibility). The fastest way of travelling by "foot" is using skates, but of course that requires a frozen and smooth river. OK, so what about the analogy, in other words, what is weather, terrain and surface in the software development world? Perhaps surface could translate to technology, e.g. mud is legacy code, a frozen river is a homogenous environment for which one very suitable technology exists, like Fortran for numeric code, and the outbacks represent a mixed environment? Perhaps the weather could translate to organisational/human aspects, with heavy snow meaning a lot of resistance and little possibility to see far ahead. The point isn't to make a perfect fit, but to see that distance isn't the only important characteristic of a travel. The distance aspect leads to heuristics like "if you don't know how long the journey will be, you should prepare for a longer one than what you expect". However, including weather, surface and terrain in the analogy leads to a richer set of problems. If it's realistic that it will both be rainy, snowy, windy, freezy etc. in the same project, how should you plan? E.g. we always pack extra food and bring a showel on trips in the snowy, Norwegian mountains, because a heavy snowfall could prevent us from going straight home. How far you can see from the start, how well you know the conditions (I've seen women wearing high-healed shoes in the Grand Canyon), how much change you may expect during the travel, may be just as important as the travel distance. I liked the analogy, too. E.g., I usually take my bike to work, it takes 4 minutes down and 6 up, while it takes at least 10 to drive and 17 to walk. However, there’s more to a travel than distance. A couple of days ago, we experienced the season’s first snow, and before I have changed the tyres (on both bike and car) it’s better to walk. When there’s a lot of snow and I have to wear a thick jacket, going uphill home is too exhausting, so I prefer walking. On longer travels in the terrain, skis are fastest (and often the only possibility). The fastest way of travelling by “foot” is using skates, but of course that requires a frozen and smooth river.

OK, so what about the analogy, in other words, what is weather, terrain and surface in the software development world? Perhaps surface could translate to technology, e.g. mud is legacy code, a frozen river is a homogenous environment for which one very suitable technology exists, like Fortran for numeric code, and the outbacks represent a mixed environment? Perhaps the weather could translate to organisational/human aspects, with heavy snow meaning a lot of resistance and little possibility to see far ahead.

The point isn’t to make a perfect fit, but to see that distance isn’t the only important characteristic of a travel. The distance aspect leads to heuristics like “if you don’t know how long the journey will be, you should prepare for a longer one than what you expect”. However, including weather, surface and terrain in the analogy leads to a richer set of problems. If it’s realistic that it will both be rainy, snowy, windy, freezy etc. in the same project, how should you plan? E.g. we always pack extra food and bring a showel on trips in the snowy, Norwegian mountains, because a heavy snowfall could prevent us from going straight home. How far you can see from the start, how well you know the conditions (I’ve seen women wearing high-healed shoes in the Grand Canyon), how much change you may expect during the travel, may be just as important as the travel distance.

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