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Postings from October 1999
On Wed, Oct 27, 1999 at 09:38:02AM -0400, John.Redford@fmr.com wrote:
> You hint at the answer, but it is just a bit further. There is an essential
> unspoken question in the problem: Can you trust what you are told? For me,
> the answer is unambiguously 'no'. Linux says it is Unix, and it is not. AIX
> says it is Unix, and it is not. POSIX is not POSIX and SunOS is not SunOS. I
> do not believe that "the humans who built the thing" in fact "actually know
> what the answers are". Further, I am sure they know nothing about what is
> done with "the thing" when it is customized after they build it.
Amen! Praise the lord!
> So you can never say "This is <XXX>" and say anything ultimately meaningful.
> However, you can say "This is this." Without regard to what any piece of
> documentation says, you have the system and can examine it. One may test the
> 'features' of the system empirically and compare the computed results with
> expectations. Then you have an accurate description of what you have ...
Agree 100%.
--
"Does `competition' have an abstract purpose?"
via, but not speaking for Deutsche Bank