From: Jay Levitt <jay+news@...>
Date: 2008-01-04T00:55:06+09:00
Subject: Re: Zed Shaw - Ruby has dodged a bullet

On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 08:08:00 -0500, Chad Perrin wrote:

> One doesn't typically hand a power drill with 100 foot-pounds of torque
> to an accountant to use for hanging pictures -- or, at the very least,
> one provides the manual complete with safety guidelines in it.  For some
> reason, software isn't treated the same way as power tools in that
> regard, especially in a commercial setting.

Having tried to "port" that very concept from software to the physical
world, I'll tell you why:

The cost of using overly-powerful software is much less apparent and
intuitive than the cost of using overly-powerful physical tools.

When I had the money to buy commercial-quality stuff, I started doing so
whenever possible.  I learned that true commercial products are:

- often 10x more expensive than consumer products.  

- much heavier, because they take more abuse and have higher duty cycles.
Cast iron instead of plastic.  That makes them a bear to carry around.

- significantly bigger, and often need more "legroom" as well.

- louder.

- often inefficient or even ineffective with small loads.  (You can't cool
a small apartment with a 24-ton chiller.)

- designed with the expectation that they will be disassembled, cleaned,
oiled and repaired on a frequent basis by a skilled technician.

To the extent that any of these map to qualities of software, they're not
obvious problems when you first start using a given system.

-- 
Jay Levitt                |
Boston, MA                | My character doesn't like it when they
Faster: jay at jay dot fm | cry or shout or hit.
http://www.jay.fm         | - Kristoffer