I disagree with the definition at dictionary.com. I think it is too simplistic and does not reflect common usage. Trust != faith. Faith implies trust but the opposite is not true.
In any event, we are now discussing semantics, which sort of defeats the point of a philosophical argument.
Thanks for taking the time to make your points known, listen, and discuss rationally - wish it was always like that on Slashdot:)
LOL, yeah right back atcha.
I work in real-time stuff (factory automation). We just started a brand-new rewrite of our million+ line codebase that was in C, and we chose C++. Even then, performance is still a major concern. I guess it is conceivable that Java could have been used for the underlying logic and the real-time stuff could be moved off to a separate processor running C, but now you are adding hardware just to discard the old codebase. I know there are Java real-time setups now, but I don't think they are as mature as VxWorks (though there are some that will run on top of vxWorks.
Even if you don't need C from Java to go faster, sometimes you might want to talk to hardware or leverage an existing library that is already implemented. My point is that mixing languages can make sense... I'm certainly not qualified to compare the scalability of the various programming platforms that are out there.
So you can reproduce quantum entanglements? Or find some dark matter? Dark energy? See an angel?
Really? You don't see a difference between those 4 things?
Quantum entanglements: apparatus is expensive, but well within the budget of many universities. Multiple unrelated groups have reproduced the findings. While there could be some grand conspiracy to concoct quantum entanglements, it is pretty unlikely given the lack of a credible motive. And in any event, their evil plan would be foiled when someone tries to do something practical with them - like build better encryption or make a quantum computer.
Dark Matter/Energy: a hotly debated theory meant to explain some data that does not match what was expected based on current theories. This is truly "science in action"... you have research, observations, and minds being changed. People don't "believe" in dark matter - but many believe that it is the best current theory to explain the odd data. If new data were to emerge tomorrow, a lot of adherents to the theory or detractors could immediately switch "sides".
Angels: no one has ever shown a reproducible way to see an angel or detect the existence of an angel. Moreover, people who "believe" in angels won't be swayed by any kind of evidence against. There exists no data where you need to explain it with an angel.
So while you need to defer to other people in almost every part of your life, I don't think this qualifies as "faith". Do you "believe" in your CPA, or do you trust him enough to let him do your taxes for you because of his track record and reputation? Do you "believe" in your auto mechanic, or do you just trust that he won't screw up your brakes because of his track record and reputation? IMHO there is a big difference.
I'm not going to say it is "better" than C# or Java, because those are both awesome tools. I was merely pointing to Python + C code as an example of where you could benefit from mixing languages when you need more speed than Python (or for that matter Java or C#) can give you alone. Certainly you don't want to write an entire application in C just because you want the speed of C in some areas?
Another example, if you prefer C#, would be to call a custom DLL that is written in C/C++ from C#. This can be done in a clean, maintainable way. There are probably whole books on marshaling.
Actually, it is *terrible* design to use more than one language if you don't have to
I think there are exceptions. Python with some C for the fast bits can be quite compelling.
And I don't know if it counts, but mixing C and C derivatives like C++ or Objective C is pretty common.
I think it depends on your requirements. Obviously it is ideal to KISS, but if writing most of the code in Python saves you months or even just weeks of coding time, then it is hard to say that a straight-C implementation is "better".
I can't believe the number of people that think the only by-product of fossil fuel is gasoline.
I hate to be a pedant, but you started it:) It's only a fuel if you burn it. Someone can quite rightly say they want a no-fossil fuel vehicle and still use plastic. Cars in particular are very recyclable.
I definitely drop to the command line, so I'm not taking a side here.
But I do have an issue with the example that he used in TFA. In that example, the web interface should have allowed him to bulk import/export the tables. Then he could have used any editor he wished on the GUI to work with the tables. He artificially handicapped the GUI to make a point. I could do the same thing by making the files binary instead of text and then pointing out that the command line is poorly suited to manipulating the binary blob. His example was contrived.
yup, faster than any gui program 100 images resized.
Pretty slick. How long would it take you to write a command-line app that painted a mustache on each of the faces in those photos?
There is a continuum: on the one side are tasks where you'd be an idiot to use a GUI and on the other are tasks where you'd be an idiot to use the CLI. And then there is the middle, where it's up to your judgment and what would be faster for you personally. And even the most hardened CLI user is probably still running a terminal inside of a GUI these days.
Take your example. If I'm sitting at a computer that has Photoshop installed but not imagemagick, I'd be a damn fool not to fire up Photoshop to convert the 100 images with a simple macro or with Bridge. Conversely, if I had imagemagick but not Photoshop, I'd be a fool to buy a $600 program when the task can be done for free. The best tool for the job rather depends on your circumstances - it is not some absolute measure.
And does CLI have limits which are surpassed by GUI? Not really, no.
Well, I certainly end up using the GUI to put the command window and man page side-by-side when composing some of the crazier CLI commands:)
On a serious note, I find tools like "Grand Perspective" or "SpaceMonger" to be better than df or du for visualizing and managing disk space. When browsing a directory with more than 2 or 3 screens worth of files, I prefer a GUI. Heck, browsing the filesystem in general is preferable with the GUI.
Even this guy's example of changing a bunch of IP mappings would be easy if the GUI let you dump the mappings into a text file of some kind that you could edit and then re-up. I mean, that's all you are doing when you go tftp -> sed -> tftp.
I dunno... I frequently drop to the command line, but I also likes me some eyecandy.
Uh, I thought the fact that banks *were* loaning out wads of cash to high-risk low-equity customers was a heavy contributor to the current mess we're in.
And you would be correct. And now they've done a 180 and won't lend to anyone unless the government backs it. I bought a house last year and had to keep under the HUD limit. It's had the effect of pushing all of the houses in my neighborhood down towards the HUD limit, almost without regard to how well-kept or nice the house itself is.
TI has "only" $1 billion in the bank. They need to borrow $5 billion and change. National has $1 billion in the bank, so that takes care of the collateral on another billion. They still need a loan on $3 billion if they are going to pay cash. I don't know if they found a bank line of credit or if they'll issue bonds or something - but it is an interesting acquisition.
Corporate tax laws should be changed so they're taxed for wealth as well as income.
Because it would be better if they paid all the rich owners a dividend?
Ask the bank who is holding their $6.5 billion why they won't loan you any of that money, and the answers to THAT are why our economy is in the shitter.
If the rich aren't paying now, what makes you think they won't set up the new system to their advantage as well? I think you need to simplify the system to remove loopholes and incentives to cheat... I don't think the system itself matters too much.
"Far less dirty" or no, the US spent over $100 million in the 70s to clean up a little island (Enewatak) from a single H-Bomb test that had occurred 20 years prior.
Anyway, setting off a single bomb in Tel Aviv wouldn't kill everyone in Israel, so it would essentially be the end of any Palestinian state. I don't know where the Israeli's would march them, but they would definitely ethnically cleanse the whole of Israel and the occupied territories.
Setting off enough bombs to destroy the Israeli state would simultaneously kill most of the Palestinians.
So frankly, I don't see the strategic point of detonating a nuclear device.
Lol it's not simple to combine hitler, splitting the atom, and 9/11 in a joke. I cheated and used hitler and the atom as a dstraction from a really bad 9/11 joke.
I'm pretty sure virtually everyone with genes cares whose genes win out. Only a small fraction in this world care more about memes than genes.
I disagree. The strongest corellation to number of children seems to be poverty. Children are the third world's retirement plan. They don't care about their genes... they care about their own well being. Hell, gene theory isn't even that old!
Why is this sad? Who cares who occupies a land mass long after you are dead? Try to set up institutions so that your ideals are preserved, but who cares where the genetic material comes from? Language, food, skin color, and hair texture are not important - preserving liberty is. Islam in Europe will evolve to mesh with the modern world, just as most Christians don't go around burning witches, going on crusades, or forcing conversions like they used to. It's just a religion.
That seems improbable. The Palestinians have all of 20k, access to the necessary materials, and the will to set off such a bomb, so why haven't they?
If you can look at a map of Israel/Palestine and figure out how to drop an H bomb on one without hurting the other, I'd love to hear your theory. The Palestinians would like to actually occupy the land, not fence it off for 600 years.
Slashdot Mirror
Or just balance a payload on the containment vessel of a civilian reactor.
I disagree with the definition at dictionary.com. I think it is too simplistic and does not reflect common usage. Trust != faith. Faith implies trust but the opposite is not true.
In any event, we are now discussing semantics, which sort of defeats the point of a philosophical argument.
Thanks for taking the time to make your points known, listen, and discuss rationally - wish it was always like that on Slashdot :)
LOL, yeah right back atcha.
I work in real-time stuff (factory automation). We just started a brand-new rewrite of our million+ line codebase that was in C, and we chose C++. Even then, performance is still a major concern. I guess it is conceivable that Java could have been used for the underlying logic and the real-time stuff could be moved off to a separate processor running C, but now you are adding hardware just to discard the old codebase. I know there are Java real-time setups now, but I don't think they are as mature as VxWorks (though there are some that will run on top of vxWorks.
Even if you don't need C from Java to go faster, sometimes you might want to talk to hardware or leverage an existing library that is already implemented. My point is that mixing languages can make sense... I'm certainly not qualified to compare the scalability of the various programming platforms that are out there.
So you can reproduce quantum entanglements? Or find some dark matter? Dark energy? See an angel?
Really? You don't see a difference between those 4 things?
Quantum entanglements: apparatus is expensive, but well within the budget of many universities. Multiple unrelated groups have reproduced the findings. While there could be some grand conspiracy to concoct quantum entanglements, it is pretty unlikely given the lack of a credible motive. And in any event, their evil plan would be foiled when someone tries to do something practical with them - like build better encryption or make a quantum computer.
Dark Matter/Energy: a hotly debated theory meant to explain some data that does not match what was expected based on current theories. This is truly "science in action"... you have research, observations, and minds being changed. People don't "believe" in dark matter - but many believe that it is the best current theory to explain the odd data. If new data were to emerge tomorrow, a lot of adherents to the theory or detractors could immediately switch "sides".
Angels: no one has ever shown a reproducible way to see an angel or detect the existence of an angel. Moreover, people who "believe" in angels won't be swayed by any kind of evidence against. There exists no data where you need to explain it with an angel.
So while you need to defer to other people in almost every part of your life, I don't think this qualifies as "faith". Do you "believe" in your CPA, or do you trust him enough to let him do your taxes for you because of his track record and reputation? Do you "believe" in your auto mechanic, or do you just trust that he won't screw up your brakes because of his track record and reputation? IMHO there is a big difference.
There are many documented large non-open projects that use Python. It is nowhere nearly as wide-spread as Java or C#, but it also has no marketing department.
I'm not going to say it is "better" than C# or Java, because those are both awesome tools. I was merely pointing to Python + C code as an example of where you could benefit from mixing languages when you need more speed than Python (or for that matter Java or C#) can give you alone. Certainly you don't want to write an entire application in C just because you want the speed of C in some areas?
Another example, if you prefer C#, would be to call a custom DLL that is written in C/C++ from C#. This can be done in a clean, maintainable way. There are probably whole books on marshaling.
Actually, it is *terrible* design to use more than one language if you don't have to
I think there are exceptions. Python with some C for the fast bits can be quite compelling.
And I don't know if it counts, but mixing C and C derivatives like C++ or Objective C is pretty common.
I think it depends on your requirements. Obviously it is ideal to KISS, but if writing most of the code in Python saves you months or even just weeks of coding time, then it is hard to say that a straight-C implementation is "better".
I can't believe the number of people that think the only by-product of fossil fuel is gasoline.
I hate to be a pedant, but you started it :) It's only a fuel if you burn it. Someone can quite rightly say they want a no-fossil fuel vehicle and still use plastic. Cars in particular are very recyclable.
I definitely drop to the command line, so I'm not taking a side here.
But I do have an issue with the example that he used in TFA. In that example, the web interface should have allowed him to bulk import/export the tables. Then he could have used any editor he wished on the GUI to work with the tables. He artificially handicapped the GUI to make a point. I could do the same thing by making the files binary instead of text and then pointing out that the command line is poorly suited to manipulating the binary blob. His example was contrived.
yup, faster than any gui program 100 images resized.
Pretty slick. How long would it take you to write a command-line app that painted a mustache on each of the faces in those photos?
There is a continuum: on the one side are tasks where you'd be an idiot to use a GUI and on the other are tasks where you'd be an idiot to use the CLI. And then there is the middle, where it's up to your judgment and what would be faster for you personally. And even the most hardened CLI user is probably still running a terminal inside of a GUI these days.
Take your example. If I'm sitting at a computer that has Photoshop installed but not imagemagick, I'd be a damn fool not to fire up Photoshop to convert the 100 images with a simple macro or with Bridge. Conversely, if I had imagemagick but not Photoshop, I'd be a fool to buy a $600 program when the task can be done for free. The best tool for the job rather depends on your circumstances - it is not some absolute measure.
Human beings invented symbolic language because it's simply more expressive than pointing and grunting.
The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" is not just a cliche - it is also largely correct.
When you look at a wiring diagram, do you think, "Damn, I wish this was a text description!"
Do architects use blueprints, or do they use text descriptions?
Symbolic language is great and all - but that first monkey man to draw something with a stick in the dirt was pretty fucking awesome, too!
And does CLI have limits which are surpassed by GUI? Not really, no.
Well, I certainly end up using the GUI to put the command window and man page side-by-side when composing some of the crazier CLI commands :)
On a serious note, I find tools like "Grand Perspective" or "SpaceMonger" to be better than df or du for visualizing and managing disk space. When browsing a directory with more than 2 or 3 screens worth of files, I prefer a GUI. Heck, browsing the filesystem in general is preferable with the GUI.
Even this guy's example of changing a bunch of IP mappings would be easy if the GUI let you dump the mappings into a text file of some kind that you could edit and then re-up. I mean, that's all you are doing when you go tftp -> sed -> tftp.
I dunno... I frequently drop to the command line, but I also likes me some eyecandy.
Uh, I thought the fact that banks *were* loaning out wads of cash to high-risk low-equity customers was a heavy contributor to the current mess we're in.
And you would be correct. And now they've done a 180 and won't lend to anyone unless the government backs it. I bought a house last year and had to keep under the HUD limit. It's had the effect of pushing all of the houses in my neighborhood down towards the HUD limit, almost without regard to how well-kept or nice the house itself is.
TI has "only" $1 billion in the bank. They need to borrow $5 billion and change. National has $1 billion in the bank, so that takes care of the collateral on another billion. They still need a loan on $3 billion if they are going to pay cash. I don't know if they found a bank line of credit or if they'll issue bonds or something - but it is an interesting acquisition.
Corporate tax laws should be changed so they're taxed for wealth as well as income.
Because it would be better if they paid all the rich owners a dividend?
Ask the bank who is holding their $6.5 billion why they won't loan you any of that money, and the answers to THAT are why our economy is in the shitter.
If the rich aren't paying now, what makes you think they won't set up the new system to their advantage as well? I think you need to simplify the system to remove loopholes and incentives to cheat... I don't think the system itself matters too much.
LOL, sorry - it was 43 tests.
"Far less dirty" or no, the US spent over $100 million in the 70s to clean up a little island (Enewatak) from a single H-Bomb test that had occurred 20 years prior.
Anyway, setting off a single bomb in Tel Aviv wouldn't kill everyone in Israel, so it would essentially be the end of any Palestinian state. I don't know where the Israeli's would march them, but they would definitely ethnically cleanse the whole of Israel and the occupied territories.
Setting off enough bombs to destroy the Israeli state would simultaneously kill most of the Palestinians.
So frankly, I don't see the strategic point of detonating a nuclear device.
Lol it's not simple to combine hitler, splitting the atom, and 9/11 in a joke. I cheated and used hitler and the atom as a dstraction from a really bad 9/11 joke.
I'm pretty sure virtually everyone with genes cares whose genes win out. Only a small fraction in this world care more about memes than genes.
I disagree. The strongest corellation to number of children seems to be poverty. Children are the third world's retirement plan. They don't care about their genes... they care about their own well being. Hell, gene theory isn't even that old!
It's not that funny. :)
But as a hint, division is involved...
Those bombs were tiny compared to an H bomb.
How many Hitlers does it take to screw in a nuclear light-bulb?
0.8181...
Sadly he is right.
Why is this sad? Who cares who occupies a land mass long after you are dead? Try to set up institutions so that your ideals are preserved, but who cares where the genetic material comes from? Language, food, skin color, and hair texture are not important - preserving liberty is. Islam in Europe will evolve to mesh with the modern world, just as most Christians don't go around burning witches, going on crusades, or forcing conversions like they used to. It's just a religion.
That seems improbable. The Palestinians have all of 20k, access to the necessary materials, and the will to set off such a bomb, so why haven't they?
If you can look at a map of Israel/Palestine and figure out how to drop an H bomb on one without hurting the other, I'd love to hear your theory. The Palestinians would like to actually occupy the land, not fence it off for 600 years.
I bring scrap paper to the meeting and then scan it through the copier and mail it to myself from there as a PDF. I'm recycling and saving $700 :)