Software vs Architecture
2002-02-04 21:43:48+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments
Software engineering thought for the day:
Anyone who thinks software gets crufty hasn't run cable in an old commercial building.
2002-02-04 21:43:48+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments
Software engineering thought for the day:
Anyone who thinks software gets crufty hasn't run cable in an old commercial building.
[ related topics: Software Engineering ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:04+00 by: Shawn
"crufty"? I'm not familiar with that term.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:04+00 by: Dan Lyke
The Jargon Lexicon entry for "crufty" lists "poorly built, possibly over-complex." In the usage in my circles it's generally the state that things get into when lots of fixes and features get applied; bits sticking out everywhere.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:06+00 by: other_todd
"Cruft," like a lot of stuff in the Hacker's Dictionary/Jargon File, is a term I had never heard in all my years at sea ... until I got to MIT, where a lot of that file seems to originate specifically. I think esr and company should open up a West Coast news bureau or something to combat regional bias.
(tongue at least partially in cheek)
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:06+00 by: Mike Gunderloy
As someone who HAS run cable in an old commercial building (which had so much unused mainframe-to-terminal cable above the drop ceiling that we literally had to cut some of it out and cart it to the dumpster to make room for the thinnet), I completely sympathize with Dan's original post.
On the other hand, I've had to maintain the source code for Microsoft products, too.
It's a tough choice.
#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:08+00 by: Mars Saxman
I first heard "cruft" when talking to someone associated with the old BBS scene in Sacramento. I don't believe they were from back east. As with any piece of computer slang it is easy to see how its distribution might be somewhat chaotic, but it isn't strictly an east coast thing.
-Mars