3 ms·
> Systems programmers are high priests of a low cult Ouch :p Part of the issue is that "systems" are no longer designed holistically [1], and instead follow C
by AceJohnny2 6y ago
> Systems programmers are high priests of a low cult
Ouch :p
Part of the issue is that "systems" are no longer designed holistically [1], and instead follow Conway's Law [2], which leads subcomponents to be designed in isolation and then combined as best as possible.
Systems programmers build the foundation of a software platform, without a clear vision of the end goal. They focus on the intricate details of the platform, but pay little attention to how this fits in the final product.
[1] maybe only at Apple, inheritors of Kay's approach?
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law
- justin66 6y ago> Part of the issue is that "systems" are no longer designed holistically The "high priests" line is a Bob Barton quote, which I believe probably dates back to the mid-sixties.
- AceJohnny2 6y agoThanks! I did not know that. Do you know what he meant in context?
- justin66 6y agoI'm not comfortable offering some kind of deep interpretation of my own, but it's been mentioned jokingly by James Mickens and jokingly but seriously by Alan Kay, whose speeches are all worth watching. I thought it was interesting, based on Hertzfeld's notes, that Kay has been quoting Barton on this for such a long time.