From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Xah Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Emacs usability (was: Can anybody tell me how to send HTML-format mail in gnus) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:37:52 -0700 (PDT) Organization: http://groups.google.com Message-ID: References: <8663qcd7h3.fsf@timbral.net> <63cf9893-7704-4ceb-a1a0-7a549d57d05f@v1g2000pra.googlegroups.com> <86ej4zedwf.fsf@lifelogs.com> <0a21d521-cbba-4dba-8792-89a042e2b1a3@j1g2000prb.googlegroups.com> <86od43cox6.fsf@lifelogs.com> <0627b0d2-a959-4fe4-a868-f03e72aaafba@1g2000pre.googlegroups.com> <86ljz38uye.fsf@lifelogs.com> <48A05F81.70601@gmail.com> <868wv36zi5.fsf_-_@lifelogs.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1218526887 1499 80.91.229.12 (12 Aug 2008 07:41:27 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:41:27 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Aug 12 09:42:19 2008 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1KSoW8-0001IM-Jb for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:42:09 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:46676 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1KSoVC-0003Zz-Gz for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:41:10 -0400 Original-Path: news.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews.google.com!n38g2000prl.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 113 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.6.97.120 Original-X-Trace: posting.google.com 1218526673 29167 127.0.0.1 (12 Aug 2008 07:37:53 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:37:53 +0000 (UTC) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: n38g2000prl.googlegroups.com; posting-host=24.6.97.120; posting-account=bRPKjQoAAACxZsR8_VPXCX27T2YcsyMA User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10_4_11; en) AppleWebKit/525.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Safari/525.22, gzip(gfe), gzip(gfe) Original-Xref: news.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:161155 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:56500 Archived-At: On Aug 11, 3:14 pm, "Lennart Borgman (gmail)" wrote: > Ted Zlatanov wrote: > > The usability metrics (fairly standard in the industry) are listed in > >http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taouu/taouu.html#id2998837so please > > see their definitions. > > > - concise > > - expressive > > - easy (in the sense of "mnemonic load") > > - transparent > > - scriptable > > - discoverable That's from =E2=80=9CThe Art of Unix Usability=E2=80=9D by Eric S Raymond. These cult-like books are rather snake oil. For example, renowned computer scientist Edsger has this to say: =2E.. what society overwhelmingly asks for is snake oil. Of course, the snake oil has the most impressive names =E2=80=94otherwise you would be selling nothing=E2=80=94 like =E2=80=9CStructured Analysis and Design=E2=80= =9D, =E2=80=9CSoftware Engineering=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CMaturity Models=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CManagemen= t Information Systems=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CIntegrated Project Support Environments=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CObject O= rientation=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CBusiness Process Re-engineering=E2=80=9D (the latter three being k= nown as IPSE, OO and BPR, respectively).=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 Edsger W Dijkstra=E2=86= =97 (1930-2002), in EWD 1175: The strengths of the academic enterprise=E2=86=97. These gurus types are the most detrimental to the computing industry. I have written numerous essays about this. Please see, for example: The Nature of the =E2=80=9CUnix Philosophy=E2=80=9D http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/unix_phil.html plain text version pasted below: ----------------------------------------------- The Nature of the =E2=80=9CUnix Philosophy=E2=80=9D Xah Lee, 2006-05 In the computing industry, especially among unix community, we often hear that there's a =E2=80=9CUnix Philosophy=E2=80=9D. In this essay, i dis= sect the nature and characterization of such =E2=80=9Cunix philosophy=E2=80=9D, as h= ave been described by Brian Kernighan, Rob Pike, Dennis Ritchie, Ken Thompson, and Richard P Gabriel et al, and in recent years by Eric Raymond. There is no one definite set of priciples that is the so-called =E2=80=9Cun= ix philosophy=E2=80=9D, but rather, it consistest of various slogans developed over the decades by unix programers that purport to describe the way unix is supposed to have been designed. The characteristics include: =E2=80=9Ckeep it simple=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cmake it fast=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9C= keep it small=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cmake it work on 99% of cases, but generality and correctness are less important=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cdiversity rules=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CUser interface is not important= , raw power is good=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Ceverything should be a file=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Carch= itecture is less important than immediate workability=E2=80=9D. Often, these are expressed by chantibl= e slogans that exhibits juvenile humor, such as =E2=80=9Csmall is beautiful= =E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CKISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)=E2=80=9D. Suppose, we take a team of student programers to produce a large software system. When the software is done, give it to software critics to analyze and come up with some principles that characterize its design decisions, without disclosing the nature of the programers. The characterization of such software, will more or less fit the descriptions of the =E2=80=9CUnix Philosophy=E2=80=9D as described in diffe= rent ways by various unix celebrities. For example, it would focus on implementation simplicity as opposed to interface simplicity. It will not be consistent in user interface, but exhibits rawness. It would be correct only for most cases, as opposed to mathematically correct or generic. It would employ simplistic data structures and formats such as text-files with rows of lines and space separated columns, as opposed to a structured system or binary format that requires a spec. It would be speedy, but less on scalability. It would consists of many small programs, as opposed to one large system with inter-dependent components. It would be easy to patch and port, but difficult to upgrade its structure or adapt entirely new assumptions. The essence of this theory is that when a software is produced for real world use, it is necessary that it works in some acceptable way, otherwise the software will be continuously debugged and refined. A software system written by a bunch of student or otherwise under- educated programers, but refined long enough for acceptably practical, real world use, will necessarily develop characteristics that is known as the Unix Philosophy. ---------------------------- Larry Wall is one of the worst ones. See: Larry Wall and Cults http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/larry_wall_n_cults.html Xah =E2=88=91 http://xahlee.org/ =E2=98=84