Re: inside Oracle database development

I recall a verbal version of this exact conversation in the early 1990s, like 1991 or 1992 or so.  I recall the person only mentioned 10 million lines and, as he had several people besides me listening, he concluded with "it's a miracle it works at all" and basically assured anyone using Oracle they were soon to die horribly.

Every time someone complains about "bad coding", I cringe if they're complaining about style or appearance or programming language or some other aesthetic.  The only true criteria that matters is "does it work", because programming is very biological.  Good code works. Bad code doesn't.  Really good code works for decades.  Things are added, things die and fall away, things are repaired, things compete, and above all things evolve.  In case you haven't dissected anything lately, biology is not always aesthetically pleasing, but whether it is or not, it needs to work.

On 11/16/18 08:56, Chris Stephens wrote:
> agree on #1.
>
> not sure i agree with the full sentiment of #2. :)
>
> On Fri, Nov 16, 2018 at 10:40 AM Ric Van Dyke <ric.van.dyke_at_hotsos.com
> <mailto:ric.van.dyke_at_hotsos.com>> wrote:
>
> Having worked there also, I have two conclusions about the Oracle
> Database:
>
> 1. It’s miracle it works at all.  (As the author says)
>
> 2. It’s even more impressive that it works so amazingly well!
>
> *From:*oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org
> <mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org>
> [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org
> <mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org>] *On Behalf Of *Chris Stephens
> *Sent:* Friday, November 16, 2018 10:12 AM
> *To:* oracle-l
> *Subject:* inside Oracle database development
>
> https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=oraguy
>
> too interesting and relevant to not post.
>
> sounds like a nightmare.
>

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