Re: Objects and Relations

On Jan 31, 7:53 am, Bob Badour <bbad..._at_pei.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Marshall wrote:
>
> [snip]
> > The Stroustroup quote:
>
> >http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bs_faq.html#compare
>
> Following the link and then spelunking a little further, I ran across
> this priceless gem:
>
> quote
> "Two factors confound the issue: There is no general agreement on what
> "object-oriented" really is, and discussions rarely account for
> experience sufficiently. Much of "the trouble with OO" comes from people
> with no significant OO experience approaching an ambitious project with
> some partially understood-yet dogmatic and typically limited-notion of
> what OO code must look like."
> /quote
>
> http://www.research.att.com/~bs/ieee_interview.html

Nice.

Stroustroup is an interesting fish. The combination of Stroustroup + Stepanov is even more interesting to observe. It is amusing to note that some of the most advanced features of the C++ type system are there because of where Stepanov wanted to take generic programming. One imagines Stepanov with a Bat-phone on his desk that connects him directly to Bjarne. I believe Stepanov referred to the process as "just-in-time language design."

Stepanov's approach is fascinating; his abstractions are scary-good, but much of work remains mired in the physical mud, and I believe he thinks that's where it's supposed to be. In any event, if one wants to study generic programming (and I believe one should so want) then Stepanov is a must-study case. Whether you like his results or not, IMHO.

> I note in passing that 'people with no significant OO experience' often
> deride those of us with significant OO experience for 'obviously' having
> none at all when we decline the koolaid.

Ha. Ha ha. Ouch, yes. I have run in to that quite a number of times. People who hear me being less that flattering about OOPLs and want to teach me design patterns or some damn thing I finished with years previously.

Marshall Received on Thu Feb 01 2007 - 08:38:23 CET