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A lot of OO was, in fact, influenced by the task of writing programs for simulations. It's conceivable someone might actually want to develop animal/bird/duck c

A lot of OO was, in fact, influenced by the task of writing programs for simulations. It's conceivable someone might actually want to develop animal/bird/duck classes (e.g., SimAnimals). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simula http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simula

jerf 15y ago
Yes, I know. That's where the idea came from. Nevertheless, it's a terrible introduction to OO. It promotes very wrong conceptualizations and horrible code. And odds are, even if that is the type of code you're writing, you still shouldn't be trying to have a one-to-one mapping between physical things and classes and/or instances. It just isn't a very good way to work. Just because it was the first thing that was done with OO doesn't mean that it was actually a good idea. (Actually, the whole idea that the first person to implement a technology or methodology is forever the one and only true authority the one and only true definition is a bizarre one anyhow; of all the people who implement a particular methodology, isn't a bit much to expect the very first person to get every detail correct? You can see this in a lot of purist debates in our discipline.)
- bryansum 15y ago
  Simula67, the version most identify as Simula proper, actually evolved concurrently with Smalltalk. Rick DeNatale's memoir has a great article debunking some early OO myths -- http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/2006/07/29/about-me http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/2006/07/29/about-me
- marshray 15y ago
  There are lots of ways to structure programs, and talk about how programs are structured. Some are good for some programs, others are good for others. Knowing when to use which metamodel is an art that is only learned after long experience. A lot of this discussion about the inherent superiority of spaceships to ducks seems to reflect the familiarity bias of the participants as much as anything else. There are certainly interesting points being made here, but maybe game experience isn't as ubiquitous as some seem to think. On the other hand, maybe game developers could learn a thing or two about ducks. In Minecraft, for instance, they cluck like chickens.

jerf 15y ago

Yes, I know. That's where the idea came from. Nevertheless, it's a terrible introduction to OO. It promotes very wrong conceptualizations and horrible code. And odds are, even if that is the type of code you're writing, you still shouldn't be trying to have a one-to-one mapping between physical things and classes and/or instances. It just isn't a very good way to work. Just because it was the first thing that was done with OO doesn't mean that it was actually a good idea. (Actually, the whole idea that the first person to implement a technology or methodology is forever the one and only true authority the one and only true definition is a bizarre one anyhow; of all the people who implement a particular methodology, isn't a bit much to expect the very first person to get every detail correct? You can see this in a lot of purist debates in our discipline.)

bryansum 15y ago
Simula67, the version most identify as Simula proper, actually evolved concurrently with Smalltalk. Rick DeNatale's memoir has a great article debunking some early OO myths -- http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/2006/07/29/about-me http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/2006/07/29/about-me
marshray 15y ago
There are lots of ways to structure programs, and talk about how programs are structured. Some are good for some programs, others are good for others. Knowing when to use which metamodel is an art that is only learned after long experience. A lot of this discussion about the inherent superiority of spaceships to ducks seems to reflect the familiarity bias of the participants as much as anything else. There are certainly interesting points being made here, but maybe game experience isn't as ubiquitous as some seem to think. On the other hand, maybe game developers could learn a thing or two about ducks. In Minecraft, for instance, they cluck like chickens.