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