how about hacking the linker map file to generate a list of function/variable names? ie, "ld -M". then run the resulting word list through a standard spell checker. the thing is, all you really need is a way ti generate a list of names...
I would argue that if someone is creating something and keeps running into blocking patents, then they are not doing much creatively at all.
That doesn't follow at all -- it is perfectly possible for there to be independent creation. Especially in the field of software development, independent creation is essentially the norm, not the exception.
More important, you haven't characterized the situation correctly. No programmer I know researches the patent literature before beginning to work on a project, and in fact, it is this horrifying prospect that motivates them to be against software patents.
In fact, the main problem with the notion of software patents is a sort of "impedence mismatch" -- for most programmers, software developement is a continuous process of creative problem solving, and a particular piece of software may embody hundreds of creative solutions to hundreds of problems, some small, some large. It simply isn't feasible to check every one of these creative solutions to see whether they were patented, and it would be an idiotic waste of time to try.
Harry is not incompetent -- he is described many times as an extremely talented young wizard. Rowling has clearly put a lot of thought into the precise nature of this talent, and it's a subtle characterization. There is an element of raw power -- recall when Harry and Voldemort's wands are locked together, Harry is able to push back with more than equal force. Harry thinks very quickly under extreme pressure, and has an uncanny ability to react instantly and correctly -- recall, for instance, when he stabs Voldemort's diary with the basilisks fang...
Of course, talent in wizardry is not something that a muggle could readily comprehend:-)
Every time I see one of these "Learn Language X in Your Spare Time" book reviews, I wonder, "Why another language?" Advancement of languages is good, and "new" languages like Ruby are great, but how many programming languages are we as a community going to produce? Like text editors, it would be better to focus on fewer targets and add features than keep coming up with new "my toolbox grew so big I created a compiler for it" languages.
I think that what you say really does apply to a number of languages -- python, ruby, php etc -- but lua really is something else -- small, elegant, and powerful, like scheme and C in their respective domains, but with some strikingly original constructs. Well worth the study.
As much as idealistically it sounds, I think such model can work: only way for artists to profit is to perform.
Really? You think that would work?
The demand for music wouldn't vanish, and in fact it's not all clear that the average professional musician would be any worse off in a model that favored performance over recording.
Recorded music is a recent phenomenon, on the order of 100 years old. Music performance, on the other hand, has existed throughout all human experience, and musicians have made a living for a very long time without recording.
I've heard that before, but as far as I can see, it's absolutely bogus. For example, FP has absolutely none of the web of pre-existing relationships (Antonio is the brother of Prospero etc) that are central to the Tempest. Nor does the Tempest have anything like the ancient tragedy of the Krell as a plot device.
"Forbidden Planet" stands quite well on its own as a story; the music is amazing.
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how about hacking the linker map file to generate a list of function/variable names? ie, "ld -M". then run the resulting word list through a standard spell checker. the thing is, all you really need is a way ti generate a list of names...
That doesn't follow at all -- it is perfectly possible for there to be independent creation. Especially in the field of software development, independent creation is essentially the norm, not the exception.
More important, you haven't characterized the situation correctly. No programmer I know researches the patent literature before beginning to work on a project, and in fact, it is this horrifying prospect that motivates them to be against software patents.
In fact, the main problem with the notion of software patents is a sort of "impedence mismatch" -- for most programmers, software developement is a continuous process of creative problem solving, and a particular piece of software may embody hundreds of creative solutions to hundreds of problems, some small, some large. It simply isn't feasible to check every one of these creative solutions to see whether they were patented, and it would be an idiotic waste of time to try.
Harry is not incompetent -- he is described many times as an extremely talented young wizard. Rowling has clearly put a lot of thought into the precise nature of this talent, and it's a subtle characterization. There is an element of raw power -- recall when Harry and Voldemort's wands are locked together, Harry is able to push back with more than equal force. Harry thinks very quickly under extreme pressure, and has an uncanny ability to react instantly and correctly -- recall, for instance, when he stabs Voldemort's diary with the basilisks fang...
Of course, talent in wizardry is not something that a muggle could readily comprehend :-)
Every time I see one of these "Learn Language X in Your Spare Time" book reviews, I wonder, "Why another language?" Advancement of languages is good, and "new" languages like Ruby are great, but how many programming languages are we as a community going to produce? Like text editors, it would be better to focus on fewer targets and add features than keep coming up with new "my toolbox grew so big I created a compiler for it" languages.
I think that what you say really does apply to a number of languages -- python, ruby, php etc -- but lua really is something else -- small, elegant, and powerful, like scheme and C in their respective domains, but with some strikingly original constructs. Well worth the study.
As much as idealistically it sounds, I think such model can work: only way for artists to profit is to perform.
Really? You think that would work?
The demand for music wouldn't vanish, and in fact it's not all clear that the average professional musician would be any worse off in a model that favored performance over recording.
Recorded music is a recent phenomenon, on the order of 100 years old. Music performance, on the other hand, has existed throughout all human experience, and musicians have made a living for a very long time without recording.
So, of course it would work.
I've heard that before, but as far as I can see, it's absolutely bogus. For example, FP has absolutely none of the web of pre-existing relationships (Antonio is the brother of Prospero etc) that are central to the Tempest. Nor does the Tempest have anything like the ancient tragedy of the Krell as a plot device.
"Forbidden Planet" stands quite well on its own as a story; the music is amazing.