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> What's the evidence for this? Because if Djikstra published a paper "solving" the problem, but the problem was not actually solved in the real world, that to
by User23 4y ago
> What's the evidence for this? Because if Djikstra published a paper "solving" the problem, but the problem was not actually solved in the real world, that to me suggests that his approach is decidedly ineffective.
Another possibility is that the field is dominated by coders who are mathematically illiterate and unwilling to remedy that deficiency while hiding behind rhetorical hand waving about the “real world.” You yourself appear to stand as evidence for that explanation.
Fortunately we are seeing some real progress in the field. For example tools like TLA+ are slowly but surely getting wider and wider usage. Lamport is very much in the same school of thought as Dijkstra by the way. Even TDD represents a major step toward a more disciplined approach to programming.
- microtherion 4y ago> Even TDD represents a major step toward a more disciplined approach to programming. A step that Dijkstra would have abhorred; he used variations of "Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!" in at least a dozen different EWD notes.
- lmm 4y ago> Another possibility is that the field is dominated by coders who are mathematically illiterate and unwilling to remedy that deficiency while hiding behind rhetorical hand waving about the “real world.” You yourself appear to stand as evidence for that explanation. I'll take the gratuitous personal attack as a sign that you have no real argument. "coders who are mathematically illiterate" doesn't explain anything. Even in the research mathematics community it's acknowledged that if you haven't communicated your proof to others then you haven't proved the theorem (see all the fuss around the ABC conjecture). I'm all for mathematical rigour in programming (and, not that it matters, I'm as experienced/qualified as a non-research mathematician can get). But judging how effective something is by how rigorous it is is putting the cart before the horse.