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Xref: sserve comp.os.os2.programmer:11154 comp.os.coherent:9076 comp.os.linux:35953 comp.os.mach:2788 comp.os.minix:21950 comp.periphs:3548 comp.unix.bsd:11903 comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit:2498 comp.os.386bsd.development:565 alt.religion.kibology:6998 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!constellation!osuunx.ucc.okstate.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!caen!batcomputer!theory.TC.Cornell.EDU!mdw From: mdw@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Matt Welsh) Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.programmer,comp.os.coherent,comp.os.linux,comp.os.mach,comp.os.minix,comp.periphs,comp.unix.bsd,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,comp.os.386bsd.development,alt.religion.kibology,alt.non.sequitur Subject: Re: Ramblings about the Convention Date: 25 Apr 1993 01:40:52 GMT Organization: Linux. It's not just for breakfast anymore. Lines: 152 Message-ID: <1rcq75$i11@fitz.TC.Cornell.EDU> References: <jmonroyC5tv90.791@netcom.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: theory.tc.cornell.edu Keywords: rambeling convention This is my favorite posting of the DECADE. Talk about one hell of an RFD. mdw (praise Jesus!) In article <jmonroyC5tv90.791@netcom.com> jmonroy@netcom.com (Jesus Monroy Jr) writes: > > > Ramblings about the Convention > ------------------------------- > > Communication, the basis for our existence and survival > as programmers and humans, is the ability to pass thoughts and > ideas in an abstract symbolic form. Today, we face these idealisms > with the hope, in some context, we may see into each other's mind. > (Hey, wait! What happened to the Right to Privacy?) > > But the truth does not evade us, we speak in argots. > (Wow, hold on. The popsicle truck just went by!) Each of us pictures > the "int" in just slightly, a different manner. Semantically, it is > just 16-bits signifying a value with a range of about 32k. > Owww.... I said about?!? About is correct, because some people are > still discoursing whether 32k is 32,000 _or_ 32,768. Silly, huh?!? > So, what is an "int"? Well, should we now talk about signed or > unsigned? Did I mention some people think an "int" should be > 32-bits? Does this make it different if it is public or private? > What about near or far? (OOPs, Sorry, that's only for MS-DOZ.) > > How do we assign a value to this "int"? Do I use 128? > or 0x80? or 1000 0000 (binary)? or 200 (octal)? and where's > the 0x0beef? > > What's all this leading to? Certainly, I must have some > information to present? Yes, Mocha Java is a coffee bean blend > without chocolate. Mocha is a port, and Java is a country. > > OK, back to communication. (What was I leading to?) > Oh yeah, existence and survival! We exist now as electronic pulses > written on a magnetic medium for ready random access. We need to > speak to each other with fluidity and rapt vernacular. > > What are the possibilities of these scrabs? Are we to gain > from this effort? > > To say there are possibilities implies that there is some > existence of a possibility. So, what could possibly lead me to > "C" when assembly is faster and has more exactness?... Wait, I > jumped a few steps.... Let's back up! > > To say there is a possibility implies that there is some > existence. Yes, we all have made some foundations. Look at your > disk. See "Hello, World!"? NO!! > > It seemed too trivial, you can now do it with your eyes closed. > You can do it in ANSI? In a single line? In C++? And maybe you even > considered trying to enter the obfuscated "C" contest? > BUT--it's not there!! > > You've gone beyond! There is no need to look at your left > foot and your right foot when you walk; it's all autonomous now. > Isn't it? > > Hardly. By falling down several hundred times you now correctly > associate imbalance with pain and a bloody nose. Or worse yet, > that spanking is now starting to feel good. > > Wait, I'm starting to diverge again. > > "Hello, World!". > > Recanting foundations is our method of debugging. I don't > own a CRAY II, or an HP Spectrum Analyzer. My resort is to make sure > I know what I am doing, to write it down so I know it happened, and > to be able to read it again after that second pint. > > Do they make wheat (weat?) beer down under? > And will she let me down under? > > Dinner time. A burrito sounds good.MMMMMMMMM. > > After finding a parking space I noticed a gorgeous female > striding in my direction. She had long brunette hair, and kicking > her out of bed for crackers was not a even a concept. She ambled by. > The T-shirt she wore was new and bright red, in bold face type it > declared: > > "SUCKED END" > > I watched her pass my vehicle, and, with a singular motion, she ascended > into her transport, inches from mine. Damn, just thirty seconds later. > > > Where was I? > > > Oh yeah, survival! Survival may call to mind some notion > of an ending (like we are hoping for this talk), but hundreds of > thousands of years have passed, with us humans intending to influence > future generations only to be confounded by fire, quake, water, > or a UFO landing. > > Is this semi-quasi-technical discussion going to degrade to > schisms of future confrontations? Why didn't the original Star Trek > use Dick Tracy watches instead of future versions of cellular phones? > Is DATA really a sensioned (sp?) being? > > I degraded, didn't I? > Must be Friday. > > OK, even I'm lost now. > > > To make it short, we need convention, a means to reference > each other's symbolism in a concise manner. Even shorter, > let's start some header files. > (WOW, multiple head!) > (I could be happy with her for 10 minutes, OK, 20... Scratch that- > she just talked.) > > I should write these things away from distractions. > Naaaaah! > > > I propose we use comp.periphs for our discussions _or_ > cross post & label all articles: [QIC-40/80]. > > While (!convention) > convention = articles ( > comp.os.os2.programmer > comp.os.coherent > comp.os.linux.announce > comp.os.mach > comp.os.minix > comp.periphs > comp.unix.bsd > comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit > comp.os.386bsd.development > ) ? x-post : comp.periphs; > > > > IS THIS ALL CLEAR? > >___________________________________________________________________________ >Jesus Monroy Jr jmonroy@netcom.com >/386BSD/device-drivers /fd /qic /clock /documentation >___________________________________________________________________________ > -- Matt Welsh, mdw@tc.cornell.edu "That kernel's got a mean streak A MILE WIDE!!" --Chip Salzenberg