Subject: RE: [hackers-il] An observation about standards compliance in clo sed software vs. open source

From: Chen Shapira <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 15:11:46 +0200

> P.S. Of course, what I wrote doesn't preclude the 
> availability of a free
> beginner-friendly system for simple tasks like word 
> processing, and stuff
> like that. Just like somebody can use a steak-knife without 
> studying how
> to use a scalpel. However, these simplified systems will have 
> their limitations
> and will not empower the user as much as the more complex 
> systems will. Just
> ask anybody who tried to perform a liver transplant using a 
> knife and fork :)

OK, we went over this already, so let me summerize my views:
Easier to use doesn't mean less powerful, it simply doesn't follow.
I believe many Unix tools could be made easier to use without losing power,
if only someone cared.
In addition, I believe that ease of use adds power because you can
concentrate better on your task.

Case study:
I tried to print code in emacs, emacs cut off any character after the 80th
in line.
I couldn't find out how to show column numbers so I could see where is it
going to cut.
I also couldn't force the printer to wrap. Do note that I had less than 15
minutes to do so.

Now, without losing any of the emacs power, here are some suggestations:
1) Rearrange the menus. Especially the "options" menu. I can't even make
suggestions here because I couldn't figure out what was going on.

2) Every programming mode (C/C++/JAVA etc.) should show line and column
number by default.

3) Printer shouldn't in any case throw away data. At least not by default.

You see, sometimes you just don't have the time to learn new things in the
system, you just want the damn thing to work, and there's much to improve in
any tool without losing ability.

---

From: mulix <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 15:24:02 +0300 (IDT)

> I believe many Unix tools could be made easier to use without losing power,

could you give an example, please?

> I couldn't find out how to show column numbers so I could see where is it

m-x column-number-mode

> I also couldn't force the printer to wrap. Do note that I had less than 15

first of all, why print from emacs, in this case? second of all, why not
write a simple shell script  (or perl script, or python, whatever) to
simply wrap any line over 80 characters?

when faced with a similar problem (printer's toner was shot to hell and
didn't print the first 10 characters on a each line) and a 10 page
homework assignemnt, i wrote a two liner perl script to add 10 spaces at
the front of each line. worked like a charm and took all of three
minutes.

yes, i do have a point - if one tool sucks, use a different  tool better
fitted for the task at hand. no tool will ever be perfect for everyone,
which means you are better off writing your own *perfect* little tools.
imho.

> 2) Every programming mode (C/C++/JAVA etc.) should show line and column

a bit of elisp in your .emacs file should take care of it. not the
easiest way to do it, and requires knowing elisp, but *the most
extensible* way of doing it.

> any tool without losing ability.

by making something "work" for you, isn't it conceivable that you are
breaking it for somebody else? i, for example, find line numbers
essential and column numbers annoying.

i prefer an infinitely extensible tool to an 'easy to use' tool. because
what's easy to use for you may be completely incomprehensible to me.
-- 
mulix
http://www.advogato.com/person/mulix

linux/reboot.h: #define LINUX_REBOOT_MAGIC1 0xfee1dead