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Not much is 'technically impossible' when it comes to businesses and software these days. Try doing IP multicast on the public Internet. What, you can't, beca

by ucee054 14y ago

Not much is 'technically impossible' when it comes to businesses and software these days. Try doing IP multicast on the public Internet. What, you can't, because the ISPs have disabled it? Next time try not talking out of your ass.

deleted 14y ago
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zalzane 14y ago
Using IP multicast is a solution to a problem; and I'm pretty sure the parent comment meant that he could solve any problem given enough time, money, and resources. It's not like you _have_ to use IP multicast to solve certain classes of broadcasting problems, it's just more helpful.
- ucee054 14y ago
  "It's not like you _have_ to use IP multicast to solve certain classes of broadcasting problems" Then why did NATO get their own dedicated lines to multicast on? Why don't they run their 100,000 simultaneous user systems without multicast and save that expense? But OK, we'll pretend you're right about that one. What if someone asks for a job shop scheduler for predictably giving optimal schedules for 300 machines interactively? NP completeness is no problem, right? Or what if someone asks for an in software modulator for the entire radio spectrum? The non-existence of the necessary hardware is again no problem, right? Or how about when users asks for just plain contradictory requirements huh? Never happened to you? Because these ones are not just physically impossible but also logically impossible. The fact is that some things are constrained by engineering. It is also a fact that some non-technical types in positions of authority push back when told "no" because of technical constraints, and ask "Why not?". Attempting to give them a reason is a trap, because they are asking the question as an opening negotiating ploy. Because these idiots in their ignorance think an engineering constraint is a negotiable item. I feel very sorry for the engineer in the original post because it sounds like he's stuck in such a rut. And it's simply infuriating to hear somebody respond to that plight with the nonsense that "in IT anything is possible".
JoshTriplett 14y ago
"IP multicast" refers to an implementation detail, not to a product feature. Several other ways exist to implement similar functionality.

by ucee054 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

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zalzane 14y ago

Using IP multicast is a solution to a problem; and I'm pretty sure the parent comment meant that he could solve any problem given enough time, money, and resources. It's not like you _have_ to use IP multicast to solve certain classes of broadcasting problems, it's just more helpful.

ucee054 14y ago
"It's not like you _have_ to use IP multicast to solve certain classes of broadcasting problems" Then why did NATO get their own dedicated lines to multicast on? Why don't they run their 100,000 simultaneous user systems without multicast and save that expense? But OK, we'll pretend you're right about that one. What if someone asks for a job shop scheduler for predictably giving optimal schedules for 300 machines interactively? NP completeness is no problem, right? Or what if someone asks for an in software modulator for the entire radio spectrum? The non-existence of the necessary hardware is again no problem, right? Or how about when users asks for just plain contradictory requirements huh? Never happened to you? Because these ones are not just physically impossible but also logically impossible. The fact is that some things are constrained by engineering. It is also a fact that some non-technical types in positions of authority push back when told "no" because of technical constraints, and ask "Why not?". Attempting to give them a reason is a trap, because they are asking the question as an opening negotiating ploy. Because these idiots in their ignorance think an engineering constraint is a negotiable item. I feel very sorry for the engineer in the original post because it sounds like he's stuck in such a rut. And it's simply infuriating to hear somebody respond to that plight with the nonsense that "in IT anything is possible".

JoshTriplett 14y ago

"IP multicast" refers to an implementation detail, not to a product feature. Several other ways exist to implement similar functionality.