> Your assertion is that it doesn't provide much benefit, but your > argument only supports the conclusion that it's a big project. Those > are two very different things.
I like the old way of doing things. I don't need to justify that to anyone. A lot of people were arguing about the merits of XML rcfiles in that thread, I argued that the discussion was irrelevant since XML rcfiles are never going to happen. We're 4 years closer to the heat death of the universe, and I'm still right.
> Yes, there is a lot of software that doesn't use XML config files. > Does that mean that we have to stick with what we have now, because > "that's how it's always been"?
Looks that way to me. Sorry.
There's a lot of things I'd change about *nix (more flexible file permissions, needing root to listen on certain ports, etc) but some things are set in stone and very hard to change.
> Yes, there are people that will disagree. Does that mean something's > not worth doing unless you can get everybody to agree?
No, you can use whatever you want in your own apps. But the benefits of XML rcfiles don't appear until there's a critical mass of apps/syscalls managable by the mythical all-singing all-dancing XML-rcfile-super-config-tool.
Here's something I wrote in 2001 about this topic. I expect I'll still be quoting it in 2011.
I've seen a lot of people floating this idea about "XML config files everywhere" for the last few months.
I'll come out and say that I don't think this would provide much benefit. For the sake of argument we'll just pretend that I like the idea.
The big practical problem here is that you've got a helluva lot of code to rewrite before we see any payoff.
Lots of folks will disagree with you about the value of rewriting $application's config files in XML. Are you prepared to fork (and maintain!) a version of cron-XML and named-XML and ssh-XML and sendmail-XML and qmail-XML and xntpd-XML and $deity knows what else?
That's just the big "server" stuff, what about all of my trivial "desktop" apps (slrn, xscreensaver, xmms, whatever) ?
I'm sure there are a ton of brain-dead apps/scripts that manually parse/etc/hosts or/etc/fstab or/etc/passwd instead of going through the appropriate system calls; you'll be breaking them too. Some of those brain-dead proggies are going to be big $$$ commercial apps whose vendors won't want to change, I almost guarantee it.
There is soooo much inertia here that it's going to be very hard to get the ball rolling. Certainly not impossible, but hard.
Hey, prove me wrong. Get in there and start coding. Next time I see you, I'll buy you a beer for every app/syscall that you XML-ize.:)
> Believe me, 5 years from now when you've learned how little you knew > when you graduated it will be awfully uncomfortable to explain during > a job interview why you implemented that code the way you did.
Meh.
Most interviewers would be interested in hearing what you'd do differently. Expecting brilliance from someone's senior project is lame.
> There isn't a whole lot a poker bot can do for you that most skilled > players can't do in their head anyways. The ONLY advantage to a bot is > the automation. Being able to consult one while you're playing isn't > an edge against a good player.
I've never run a pokerbot, but I expect you could babysit 2 or 3 at once, all playing different games. (Maybe 6 or 10 different games?)
You could target lower money games, i.e. weaker players, and still make money.
> There aren't any other (legitimate) sources of music that let me pay > less than 99 for a song. My only alternative is to buy the entire CD > at retail, which costs well over $10, and if I only want one song off > it that's a waste.
There's a really good used record store in my town. In the last 5 years I've bought 10x more used CDs than shrink-wrapped ones.
An indie developer has a cool RPG concept in beta - Mount and Blade.
He's mostly working on the combat engine and has very little plot, but the skeleton of the game is downloadable and very playable. It's kind of like Diablo right now, not plot but lots of enemies to slaughter.
This is the first combat engine I've seen that makes effective use of mounted troops - playing a mounted character is a lot of fun.
Slashdot Mirror
> Your assertion is that it doesn't provide much benefit, but your
> argument only supports the conclusion that it's a big project. Those
> are two very different things.
I like the old way of doing things. I don't need to justify that to anyone. A lot of people were arguing about the merits of XML rcfiles in that thread, I argued that the discussion was irrelevant since XML rcfiles are never going to happen. We're 4 years closer to the heat death of the universe, and I'm still right.
> Yes, there is a lot of software that doesn't use XML config files.
> Does that mean that we have to stick with what we have now, because
> "that's how it's always been"?
Looks that way to me. Sorry.
There's a lot of things I'd change about *nix (more flexible file permissions, needing root to listen on certain ports, etc) but some things are set in stone and very hard to change.
> Yes, there are people that will disagree. Does that mean something's
> not worth doing unless you can get everybody to agree?
No, you can use whatever you want in your own apps. But the benefits of XML rcfiles don't appear until there's a critical mass of apps/syscalls managable by the mythical all-singing all-dancing XML-rcfile-super-config-tool.
Are you also going to rewrite all the scripts and makefiles you'll break?
Inertia is a bitch, but it won't go away by wishing.
An excellent idea.
It also adds more work/complexity to an idea that is already too much effort for too little payoff.
4 years later, people are still talking about XML config files. No-one has done it yet. No-one is ever going to bite the bullet and make this happen.
My offer of a beer per app or syscall still stands, BTW.
For only a bit more space, you could put your CDs and DVDs in a few big CD wallets. That way you can actually find what you're looking for.
A little salt makes password negotiation both tasty and safe.
1) Don't feed the trolls
2) Don't expect civilized behaviour online
Sure, but NT4 users are a tiny minority these days. It shouldn't be a surprise that NT4 doesn't receive first class support.
> No mtter what the cause, users will chose not to run the app since it
> results in the BSOD.
Damn! There goes the lucrative NT4 market!
> Believe me, 5 years from now when you've learned how little you knew
> when you graduated it will be awfully uncomfortable to explain during
> a job interview why you implemented that code the way you did.
Meh.
Most interviewers would be interested in hearing what you'd do differently. Expecting brilliance from someone's senior project is lame.
> There isn't a whole lot a poker bot can do for you that most skilled
> players can't do in their head anyways. The ONLY advantage to a bot is
> the automation. Being able to consult one while you're playing isn't
> an edge against a good player.
I've never run a pokerbot, but I expect you could babysit 2 or 3 at once, all playing different games. (Maybe 6 or 10 different games?)
You could target lower money games, i.e. weaker players, and still make money.
> There aren't any other (legitimate) sources of music that let me pay
> less than 99 for a song. My only alternative is to buy the entire CD
> at retail, which costs well over $10, and if I only want one song off
> it that's a waste.
There's a really good used record store in my town. In the last 5 years I've bought 10x more used CDs than shrink-wrapped ones.
My Scottish and Irish ancestors were knocked around, dispossesed and pissed on by the english.
The Normans conquered and ruled my English forebearers.
My Loyalist great-great-great-great-grandparents had their land stolen by the Americans, who then threw them right out of the country.
I've managed to get over it and live my life.
Waaah.
We stole their land and tried to supress their culture. That's not nice, but it's still not fucking genocide.
Please cite any and all genocidal events in Canada.
> How many of the current mainframe gurus were taught mainframes as part
> of a curricula? I would expect not very many.
Um, once upon a time, before micros existed, you sort of HAD TO teach CS courses on a mainframe. Punch cards and all.
Old fashioned analog clocks on the wall, set for each time zone you support.
Make 'em big, with nice labels for the timezone and names of the cities where your remote offices are.
Heh.
Canada was built by grabbing land from the indians. They're still whining about it, I'm sure they consider it a human rights abuse.
Oh, and our railways were also built with Chinese labour, but I don't know how well/poorly they were treated.
There's something about seeing all your info at once instead of scrolling around all the damn time.
If you're really busy, get 2 big freaking whiteboards.
The parents have a heat pump in their new home. I'm told it doesn't have enough power to heat the house once the outside air goes below -20C or so.
At that point they start up the good old woodstove to supplement the heat pump.
Heh. How about hanging around the financial district snooping for stock tips?
(best taken in small doses)
I see 3 spelling/grammar mistakes in your first paragraph, maybe you should be paying more attention.
He's mostly working on the combat engine and has very little plot, but the skeleton of the game is downloadable and very playable. It's kind of like Diablo right now, not plot but lots of enemies to slaughter.
This is the first combat engine I've seen that makes effective use of mounted troops - playing a mounted character is a lot of fun.
A review here.
Don't bother to download if you can't live without Half Life 2 quality graphics.
PS - not affiliated with those guys, but this is a cool game