Lew <lew@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> Studies and experience have consistently shown that
>> there is more than one "correct" solution for almost every software
>> requirement. The history of computing has notably omitted attempts to
find
>> any "true correct" data model or user interface, and has focused
instead on
>> elucidating principles by which *a* correct solution can be found in
any given
>> situation.
David Segall wrote:
> I believe that the relational database,
Never yet implemented, not implemented in the same way by all vendors, and
by
no means the only database model in production use.
> the spreadsheet,
of which many varieties exist, and remains to this day only one kind of
do***ent or analytical tool, competing with and usually giving way to
presentation software and database systems.
> the Xerox [Palo] Alto user interface,
Tweaked, altered and re-interpreted a zillion ways by a zillion vendors.
Open
Look is not Mac is not Motif is not any of the dissimilar Windows
interfaces.
A mouse is not a pen on a tablet is not a trackball is not a
retinal-tracking device. The WIMP interface is one of many, and not the
only
one in production use; command line remains strong and will never go away.
> the Java-style virtual machine,
A subject of huge controversy, as evidenced by the vehement C++ vs.
C#/Java
religious wars. Not a clear winner; certainly not the one "true, correct"
execution model.
> models was so intuitively right that they persisted despite the fact
.... that to this day many viable alternatives exist and remain
competitive
with these so called "true, correct" ways.
> that many of the early implementations were unacceptable. Of course,
> those historical milestones do not contradict your second sentence.
Nor the first. Every single example you cited is one of several solutions
to
a given problem, e.g., issuing commands to the computer. In each case,
the
alternative solutions are more viable for certain scenarios, and remain
popular to this day. Every single one is realized differently by
different
vendors. None of them are likely to remain the best practice for the
foreseeable future. Each and every example you cited sup****ts the thesis
that
there has yet to be found any one "true, correct" solution in software
engineering.
--
Lew
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