tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24237784.post116022074574002333..comments2023-05-16T19:00:04.002+05:00Comments on Things That Require Further Thinking: "Software as a floor mosaic" metaphorDmitry Dvoinikovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06315351821886601658noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24237784.post-55580813277655399522007-03-04T22:05:00.000+05:002007-03-04T22:05:00.000+05:00The undeniable beauty of parquet flooring is finan...The undeniable beauty of parquet flooring is financially out of reach for many people. A cost comparison between replacing the old worn out wall to wall carpeting and installing parquet flooring will show that the parquet choice is less expensive if you install it yourself.<BR/><BR/>If you don't have sub flooring which can be sanded and varnished, you might consider do it yourself parquet flooring. Eight or twelve inch squares of finished oak are available in several shades of stain from dark walnut like oak to pale natural tones. The wood grain is preserved in all finishes and the final clear coat will stand up to most traffic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24237784.post-1160287333457337932006-10-08T12:02:00.000+06:002006-10-08T12:02:00.000+06:00You have a set of very good points there. Indeed, ...You have a set of very good points there. <BR/><BR/>Indeed, there is no recursiveness in mosaics, on the other hand, in software development, you almost never treat your components as though they had any structure to themselves, on the contrary, you see them as an individual stones with certain external properties. It's like they are just given, much like stones, and all you have to do is to put them in the right spot.<BR/><BR/>I would also to add that if a user sees no difference in mosaic internals, he must be so very far from it, or his view be totally obscured, which defeats the entire purpose of the mosaic. In fact I was talking more about a developer's point of view - the one who is actually entitled to evaluate the structure of the thing.Dmitry Dvoinikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06315351821886601658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24237784.post-1160266935345801282006-10-08T06:22:00.000+06:002006-10-08T06:22:00.000+06:00Analogies are where you take two things that have ...Analogies are where you take two things that have no relation whatsoever (e.g. stone mosaics and computer software), and demonstrate a similarity of form rather than content. As far as content goes, mosaics and software are in two different worlds. As far as form is concerned, they are similar in as much as they both have a lot of parts and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. But then again, that means you could have compared software to a car engine, or building architecture, etc.<BR/><BR/>"Parts" in software are usually comprised of other sub-parts or inherit multiple parts or <I>do something</I> to other parts or even <I>become</I> other parts. Mosaic stones don't do any of those things. Mosaics are inherently flat layouts where stones are used like ancient monitor pixels. In itself, the number of components or their size doesn't say much about software quality. Coding software is more similar to language-as-art such as prose or poetry than mosaic art.<BR/><BR/>The point? If I write an FTP server in Python or C++ or even BASIC, if it works the same from the user's point of view (the mosaic viewer), then it doesn't matter how big the components are. In programming, rather than real-life mosaics, sometimes the big stone mosaic <I>is</I> the small stone mosaic. Language and component choice depend upon project goals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com