Asii.123
net.followup
utzoo!decvax!ittvax!sii!wje
Thu May  6 08:43:42 1982
Re: Dr. Dijkstra speaks...
While the good doctor has some valid points, I have always found myself
rather irritated by his style of presentation. The general tone of his
expositions tends to be 'here is TRUTH', leaving no room for question.
Perhaps this is a misconception on my part.
However, I do take exception to a theme he consistently states as fact,
that programming is mathematics, pure and simple; if you are a
superlative mathematician, you can perhaps be a good programmer. Many
people that I have discussed this with prefer to consider that programming
is more similar to writing excellent prose. The best programmers that
I have known have had training in philosophy or languages. (No, I'm not
either, just a lowly EE). It would seem to me that the only prerequisite
for good programming is the ability to grasp the logical structure of
a task, and then be able to express that structure in a particular
language.
		-Bill Ezell
		 Software Innovations, Inc.

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