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Patterns of Software now online

ziggy on 2003-08-11T13:46:10

Richard P. Gabriel has released a PDF of his book, Patterns of Software, which is now out of print. (Richard is the author of Worse is Better, and other thoughts on Lisp.)

In Patterns of Software, Richard blathers about a great many things, including how a disadvantaged youth winds up as a graduate student at the Stanford AI Lab, how he founded a software company writing apps in Lisp, and many other things. The real reason to read PoS is for the essays on Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language and Richard's ideas on why software design should be more like a Masters in Fine Arts program rather than a faux engineering discipline. (The other essays on Christopher Alexander's foray into Turkish prayer rugs should have been left on the cutting room floor.)

The New Jersey Approach

jjohn on 2003-08-11T15:49:20

I find the "worse is better" compelling. As a designer, you always want produce your best creation. As an engineer, you want always want to build something rock-solid. However as a day laborer answerable to someone signing your paycheck, you find that it's far better to have anything that works than designs for the perfection solution that will take a lot longer to implement. The truth is that people can tolerate a lot of revisions and bugs if they get even midling-quality software sooner rather than later, provided you fix as many of the bugs as you can while producing the next rev.

I'm solidly in the "worse is better" camp.

Whoa there!

pdcawley on 2003-08-11T22:56:53

I didn't characterize Gabriel as a Unit of Bogosity. I pointed out that, according to the Jargon File, a Gabriel is a unit of bogosity. I happen to own my own copy of Patterns of Software and rate it very highly.

Re:Whoa there!

ziggy on 2003-08-12T02:01:22

Gah! Profuse apologies for confusing your own well thought out opinions for esr's. :-)

Re:Whoa there!

ziggy on 2003-08-12T02:05:21

Actually, the unit of bogosity in the jargon file is now Doug Lenat, not Richard P. Gabriel.

Re:Whoa there!

pdcawley on 2003-08-12T06:11:35

Hmm... probably already was. My memory is not what it was. I'm pretty sure there's an entry for Gabriel in there though. Maybe it's a unit of cleverness.

Gabriel

pne on 2003-09-17T10:35:17

Apparently, it refers to a stalling tactic.