3 ms·

Welcome to civilization. What that means is that you are not in full control of your entire stack...do you have an idea how to reimplement, improve, or even ju

Welcome to civilization. What that means is that you are not in full control of your entire stack...do you have an idea how to reimplement, improve, or even just fix your keyboard's controller? Your link to the internet, from the way "call before drilling" protection is laid, to HTTP 2? The way your food is trustworthy; heck, the way your food even exists? Indeed: nobody is in full control in their own life. Scary. Yet also powerful.

choeger 5y ago
I think the food analogy is a very good one: I know how wheat is grown, harvested, turned into flour, and how to create a bread from that. I also know the same about several vegetables and even eggs and chicken. I know that I have a weak spot when it comes to dairy. I know enough about slaughtering cows and pigs that I would not attempt it myself. And I know enough about health and the risk of various parasites, etc. to understand what I need to read up about when it comes to dealing with meat safely. I also understand very well that I would have a very hard time feeding me and my family alone. But I knew where to start. If we apply this metaphor to binutils, how many developers even know what ELF or DWARF stand for and how they would have to use them? How many know what an assembler and linker do and how one would approach to get one if needed?
- Piskvorrr 5y ago
  IMNSHO, the knowledge of assembler and linker is already quite specific - continuing the bread metaphor, "how many people trying to make bread from scratch have a clue about sourdough or yeast?" Yup, I have a nagging feeling that those exist and are fairly important, but how would I have to use them, not much knowledge there. (Also, why stop at assembly - a macrolanguage, even though it strongly corresponds to a specific architecture?)

3 ms·

Welcome to civilization. What that means is that you are not in full control of your entire stack...do you have an idea how to reimplement, improve, or even ju

by Piskvorrr 5y ago

choeger 5y ago
I think the food analogy is a very good one: I know how wheat is grown, harvested, turned into flour, and how to create a bread from that. I also know the same about several vegetables and even eggs and chicken. I know that I have a weak spot when it comes to dairy. I know enough about slaughtering cows and pigs that I would not attempt it myself. And I know enough about health and the risk of various parasites, etc. to understand what I need to read up about when it comes to dealing with meat safely. I also understand very well that I would have a very hard time feeding me and my family alone. But I knew where to start. If we apply this metaphor to binutils, how many developers even know what ELF or DWARF stand for and how they would have to use them? How many know what an assembler and linker do and how one would approach to get one if needed?
- Piskvorrr 5y ago
  IMNSHO, the knowledge of assembler and linker is already quite specific - continuing the bread metaphor, "how many people trying to make bread from scratch have a clue about sourdough or yeast?" Yup, I have a nagging feeling that those exist and are fairly important, but how would I have to use them, not much knowledge there. (Also, why stop at assembly - a macrolanguage, even though it strongly corresponds to a specific architecture?)