From: Sean O'Dell <sean@...>
Date: 2004-06-15T00:59:45+09:00
Subject: Re: [ANN] celsoft.com/Battery 0.1.1

On Sunday 13 June 2004 00:13, Jean-Hugues ROBERT wrote:
> At 08:12 13/06/2004 +0900, you wrote:
> >
> >When you're given no choice, as far as you're concerned as a library user,
> >they're run in an arbitrary order.  The fact that it turns out they are
> > run alphabetically doesn't change the fact that the system of ordering is
> > arbitrary.  There is no rhyme, reason or principal determining the order;
> > it was decided by the author at his prerogative.  If the tests were run
> > according to the length of the method names, that would still be an
> > arbitrary order.  As far as I'm concerned, the order that tests are run
> > is a black box.
>
> I suspect that there is some misunderstanding here. That you would
> call the order "arbitrary" conveys some negative connotation that
> you certainly want to avoid not to appear rude or condescending.
> In France a typical "arbitrary" decision was King's one to put you
> on jail (lettre de cachet). As a result "arbitrary" tends to
> mean "lack of respect".
>
> I also suspect that the decision to "order" tests is not at all
> arbitrary compared to the decision not to sort tests. I tend to
> think that it is a good thing to order things and alphabetic order
> is a reasonable choice that is easy to understand by everybody.

Ordering tests alphabetically, to me, is arbitrary.  I can't say I really know 
how many people got involved in the decision to order tests alphabetically, 
but I can say that whether it's one or a thousand, the method makes zero 
sense to me and it's arbitrary as far as I'm concerned.

I am about to put the word "arbitrary" back into every single 
celsoft.com/Battery document I've written if people refuse to respect my 
opinion in the matter and continue to berate me over it.  I took it out 
initially trying to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, but since it seems 
apparent that this discussion is going to go on and on, I feel almost 
compelled to hold up the word on a billboard.  I used the word properly, and 
I still meant what I said.  I'm starting to feel sorry for taking the word 
out of the docs.

	Sean O'Dell