Well, it's not a proof but it still gives us some insight: Now we can be fairly sure that there is no magic tour, so we can stop trying to prove the existence of one. This can be quite helpful. After all, there are people who spent years trying to fond (non-existent) counter-examples to the 4-colour theorem.
> What I don't understand is why SCO is so unwilling to show the code this is all about. > If it's in the kernel everyone can already see > it so why the secrecy and complicated NDA stuff?
Maybe they're afraid. I bet that only days after they show us the source there will be a clean version of the Linux kernel, perhaps with a few features disabled. In any case, it'll only take a short time to get a clean kernel. And then they can't force anyone into paying them... Isn't open source great ?:-)
I just looked up `phoenix' at thesaurus.com and it returns `phoenix` as synonyms for `ideal', `jewel', `monster', and `perfection':-) It's a shame they can't use that name anymore.
> And the Cold War which just ended was really a continuation of WWII. And, biological weapons based on the influenca virus may well start a new 'cold'-war.
Well, one consequence is that many people will be forced to upgrade to the new office, since all the Word-attachments will require the new word to be readable (and editable)... Now, this is a good motivation for M$.
> What you really need is generics (as in C++ templates). >Java collections are vile, since they suffer from type loss > even when used with "real" objects. I'm surprised that didn't >come into this top ten; it's a major language deficiency.
I couldn't agree more. In fact, there is a proposal (from Sun in 2001 based on Generic Java) to do just this. I really hope it will find its way into Java soon, since Generic Java solves exactly the problem you are rightly complaining about.
Java does not need just to incorporate the advances in the last 7 years, but rather the advances (e.g. in type systems) of the last 20 years.
Re:damn... did anyone else mis-read this?
on
Linux 2.4.19 Released
·
· Score: 4, Funny
> A car returns the first element of a list. A cdr returns the remaining elements.
And you need a license for this? Now I know why LISP is out fashion.
If you're worried about threading/memory bugs, you rather want to compile ML or HASKELL to a blazingly fast 100% native-code binary, without ever using non-free software.
Java's type system still allows wrong type casts, which can only be checked at runtime, and this gives essentially memory bugs. I wish Java had a better type system with proper polymorphism (like Generic Java) instead of these ugly casts to Object and back...
Re:How to think like a computer scientist
on
Think Python
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I think part of the problem is the name `Computer Science', which gives a wrong impression of what the core of the poodle really is. That's like calling Astronomy `Telescope Science'. I have met so many people who didn't want to study CS at all - they just wanted to learn `installing Linux and setting up a web server'. This has regrettably put universities under pressure to change their curriculum...
Some universities (eg. Edinburgh) have started calling it `Informatics', which is much more appropriate. (In fact in Germany, and probably elsewhere, it was always called `Informatik'.) Maybe there should be CS *and* Informatics.
Slashdot Mirror
> Could be worse. It could be ball lightning.
Like a Quantum Fireball? (I wonder if they still make them...)
> Then how do you explain all the people like Linus who run Linux on Apple hardware?
:-)
Linus got it for free.
Hipster PDA all the way!
Actually, I thought they were talking about cooking roadkill... Phew.
It's the size of the wafer, the round silicon thing with *many* chips on it.
See this link (to Intel, inappropriately) for more info.
This just shows how thorough SCO really is. The article says: That this code "emanated" from SGI was news to SCO.
:-)
Well, the linux code clearly states
* Copyright (C) 1992 - 1997, 2000-2002 Silicon Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved.
I hope they know how Silicon Graphics Inc. relates to SGI
Well, it's not a proof but it still gives us some insight: Now we can be fairly sure that there is no magic tour, so we can stop trying to prove the existence of one. This can be quite helpful. After all, there are people who spent years trying to fond (non-existent) counter-examples to the 4-colour theorem.
So, should they remove support for Windows as well? I don't think so. Let's behave like adults here, not like SCO!
> What I don't understand is why SCO is so unwilling to show the code this is all about.
:-)
> If it's in the kernel everyone can already see
> it so why the secrecy and complicated NDA stuff?
Maybe they're afraid. I bet that only days after they show us the source there will be a clean version of the Linux kernel, perhaps with a few features disabled. In any case, it'll only take a short time to get a clean kernel. And then they can't force anyone into paying them...
Isn't open source great ?
I just looked up `phoenix' at thesaurus.com and it returns `phoenix` as synonyms for `ideal', `jewel', `monster', and `perfection' :-) It's a shame they can't use that name anymore.
> Ditto for Metafont. :-)
Except that Metafont's version number will be set to e.
> > none working perfectly
>
> I'd like to see any software, free or otherwise, that does.
Well, Don Knuth's TeX comes close. In fact, you can claim $384 (not sure about the exact number) from him if you find a bug.
> And the Cold War which just ended was really a continuation of WWII.
And, biological weapons based on the influenca virus may well start a new 'cold'-war.
> burn my pupils to see a good view of the sun from the earth
Bah, burn your pupils. What sort of teacher are you?
Well, one consequence is that many people will be forced to upgrade to the new office, since all the Word-attachments will require the new word to be readable (and editable)... Now, this is a good motivation for M$.
Perl? That should have been postmortem computer science, eh?
No, just kidding, Perl's ok.
...by the number of references (a.k.a links) in the text.
Yeah, "burn your genes"! Now!
No, it is: "some things are better left unread". This doesn't apply to Douglas Adams, of course.
> What you really need is generics (as in C++ templates).
>Java collections are vile, since they suffer from type loss
> even when used with "real" objects. I'm surprised that didn't
>come into this top ten; it's a major language deficiency.
I couldn't agree more. In fact, there is a proposal (from Sun in 2001 based on Generic Java) to do just this. I really hope it will find its way into Java soon, since Generic Java solves exactly the problem you are rightly complaining about.
Java does not need just to incorporate the advances in the last 7 years, but rather the advances (e.g. in type systems) of the last 20 years.
> A car returns the first element of a list. A cdr returns the remaining elements.
And you need a license for this? Now I know why LISP is out fashion.
If you're worried about threading/memory bugs, you rather want to compile ML or HASKELL to a blazingly fast 100% native-code binary, without ever using non-free software.
Java's type system still allows wrong type casts, which can only be checked at runtime, and this gives essentially memory bugs. I wish Java had a better type system with proper polymorphism (like Generic Java) instead of these ugly casts to Object and back...
I think part of the problem is the name `Computer Science', which gives a wrong impression of what the core of the poodle really is. That's like calling Astronomy `Telescope Science'. I have met so many people who didn't want to study CS at all - they just wanted to learn `installing Linux and setting up a web server'. This has regrettably put universities under pressure to change their curriculum...
Some universities (eg. Edinburgh) have started calling it `Informatics', which is much more appropriate. (In fact in Germany, and probably elsewhere, it was always called `Informatik'.)
Maybe there should be CS *and* Informatics.
Uhm, guess that was offtopic.
As Ghandi said,
:-)
First they ignore you...
Second they laugh at you (puppy?)...
Then they fight you (cancer?)...
And then you win!
Seems like they got it in the wrong order though
> ...Because there were only 3 people who signed up.
Maybe someone should have posted a link on slashdot.
Oh - wait, Nevermind.