Reading this (nicely written) effort is akin to empathizing with Bertrand Russell, in his near-fatal attempt to encompass all of mathematics in a new Principia, reaching 1+1=2 on [some page past 90?]. Poor Bertie wasn't acquainted with Kurt G., we must suppose.

Some believe that *all* we call knowledge, is our sorta- organized collection of good metaphors; we appear always to think in metaphor - is it possible that is all we Can 'think' in?

Naturally I cannot grok subtly, his remarks re the consequences of early choices about function names, global variables and the effects of 'early muddy vision' about those - upon later efforts to re-do. But this all reads to me, more like an effort to illustrate something quite more than umm Good Code Housekeeping.

It looks more like am aim to (try to) set out a few of the ingredients of er 'wise forethought' ?? whether re coding, city-designing or war-launching (imagine the logistics behind D-Day: down to the toilet paper). Notice even 'documentation' = hardly (merely) a code-related idea and necessity. The flow of control describes as easily - CCC for missile launches as.. polit. party control of locals, integrated into an Election campaign.

Much of the tradeoffs under $ pressure, as lead to the deliciously described consequences: did not some genius distill that to: Fast Cheap Good: pick any TWO! (?)

Peter Principle.. Yep: this IS the author's Tour de Force, but it just isn't about 'programming' (isn't just about programming?) Just that Principle, named: itself connotes a lifetime's experience in anyone, of its veracity, why it's so (we think) and .. so on. Hell... this could be about the sub-structure of every Town Council and every government / society!

Prototype phase, expansion, consolidation.. eventual Freedom from Choice [The 'Conservative' or Reactionary view, as encapsulated by opponents?] Politico-speak.

Throwaway code: what better description! of the hysterical Legal Codes recently rammed through under the cover of 9/11 disorganization/chaos here in Murica: just *yesterday* including: covert invasion of an office, home - with no notification before or after, sometimes not ever - if deemed in Interest of National Security. Just the latest, not the total of these Renegade Codes.

This *has* to be Throwaway Code! or: if it sticks, it is a fundamental anti-Constitutional alteration of.. what this Murica was supposed to be about. Etc. A switch from Smalltalk to VB as National Language, (in keeping with the increasing dumbth (entropy?) of The Times perhaps)



Anyway - thanks for a good read; it's always instructive to test one's own collection of metaphors against any well-organized set. Will have to read it a bit slower, again, after it marinates a while.


Cheers,

Ashton