Re: [dwm] dijkstra quote

--- On Wed, 5/7/08, Szabolcs Nagy <nszabolcs_AT_gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Szabolcs Nagy <nszabolcs_AT_gmail.com>
> Subject: [dwm] dijkstra quote
> To: "dynamic window manager" <dwm_AT_suckless.org>
> Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 12:20 PM
> a dijkstra quote [1] i've just stumbled upon and would
> like to share:
>
> The practice is pervaded by the reassuring illusion that
> programs are
> just devices like any others, the only difference admitted
> being that
> their manufacture might require a new type of craftsmen,
> viz.
> programmers. From there it is only a small step to
> measuring
> "programmer productivity" in terms of
> "number of lines of code
> produced per month". This is a very costly measuring
> unit because it
> encourages the writing of insipid code, but today I am less
> interested
> in how foolish a unit it is from even a pure business point
> of view.
> My point today is that, if we wish to count lines of code,
> we should
> not regard them as "lines produced" but as
> "lines spent": the current
> conventional wisdom is so foolish as to book that count on
> the wrong
> side of the ledger.
>
>
> [1]:
> http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1036.html

I find it blindingly bizarre that programmers, who by definition should be logical thinkers, could be even slightly influenced toward thinking that lines of code are directly proportional to quality of code. The concept is ridiculous to a ridiculous degree.

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Received on Wed May 07 2008 - 23:34:51 UTC