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Re: "Documentation by paper"
- From: Robert Dewar <dewar at gnat dot com>
- To: law at redhat dot com
- Cc: Kai Henningsen <kaih at khms dot westfalen dot de>, gcc at gcc dot gnu dot org
- Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 11:44:18 -0500
- Subject: Re: "Documentation by paper"
- References: <200402091627.i19GRE1F022341@speedy.slc.redhat.com>
law@redhat.com wrote:
But again, why bother when there are already things like wikipedia and
numerous texts which already define these basic terms. Other folks have
already defined these basic terms, probably in better verbage than we'd come
up with. Why recreate the wheel?
Because precise definitions can vary. When people write mathematical or
scientific papers, they always precisely define terms, and the reason
for this is that there can be subtle (or sometimes not so subtle)
variations in exact definitions. These kind of variations are exactly
what can cause difficulties in programs.
Furthermore, the general definitions are likely to be a notch too
abstract. Often in the context of a given program, you can provide
definitions which are slightly more concrete and understandable in
the context of an implementation.