Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 08:50:15 -0700 (MST) From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org> To: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au (Michael Smith) Cc: terry@lambert.org, msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, mcgovern@spoon.beta.com, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Constructive criticism (was: bashing everyone for fun and profit) Message-ID: <199701301550.IAA22016@phaeton.artisoft.com> In-Reply-To: <199701300259.NAA25266@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au> from "Michael Smith" at Jan 30, 97 01:29:31 pm
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> > > This is called the "learning curve". There are two ways to climb it, for > > > climb it you must if you want to do anything. > > > > How about flattening the curve, instead? It's not an inherent property. > > Flattening the curve requires reducing the amount of knowledge required > for a given task. Yes. Exactly why it should be done. > Reducing the amount of knowledge required in the current context is > not a simple or useful task in any other than the longest, most > divorced-from-reality view. Useful to whom? Existing contributors, or contributors that it would be in the projects best interests to bring on line? Taking the long view is not the same as being unrealistic. If it is, then you should flatten that curve, too, and then it won't be. 8-). > > > If you can't work out how device drivers are integrated, I seriously > > > doubt that you're up to writing one in the first place. 8( > > > > This is wrong... I don't have to understand linker sets to be a good > > driver writer, but if I don't, how the driver gets integrated is a > > bit of FreeBSD-specific mystery, totally abstract from the concept > > of writing drivers themselves. > > You're (deliberately?) misreading me. Try the alternative interpretation > of what I said. Uh... "If you don't know how the undocumented current implementation of device numbering relates to the undocumented devfs method of registration, then you're not up to writing a driver"? Actually, a driver writer should only have to care about DDI/DKI, and not care about configuration: that should still be inherent in the interface. I don't grok that interpretation, either. > > Note: I betting that you realize that if you are arguing against > > documentation, you can't win. 8-) 8-). > > I'm arguing against someone saying "You're making it too hard" with the > response "I'm no bloody genius, and if I can do it, you can too". > > This makes the generous assumption that the other party is as capable as > I am, which is IMHO fairly realistic. Ah... but what if you *are* a bllody genius, only you aren't aware of it? 8-). Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.
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