[PD] Very large patches unstable?
Mathieu Bouchard
matju at artengine.ca
Thu Dec 3 00:04:10 CET 2009
On Wed, 2 Dec 2009, Matteo Sisti Sette wrote:
> Well I was just implying that with commercial software I feel the RIGHT
> to complain about bugs and EXPECT (in the sense of "demand" in english,
> lol, not of real expectation) them to be fixed, because software is the
> only field where you BUY something that does not work and are even
> supposed to accept that, which I don't.
That's because software is the only field in which new developments are
called "maintenance". It's also the only field in which the only thing you
ever do is plan (a computer programme is a plan). It's also the only field
in which the cost of repairing a mistake is that much low. Therefore the
market expands to handle the biggest plans that human minds can possibly
handle, as there aren't so many consequences to making a mistake here and
there.
> I didn't imply that companies will do what I would expect them to do
> according to what I think is their moral duty.
I think that their first moral duty is to express all of the disclaimers
that they mean, before you buy. All of the rest is optional.
> but if I take for true what seems to be an almost universally shared
> opinion, that bug free software does not and won't ever exist,
I believe that bug-free software is possible. I also believe that it is
not a very interesting fact, because all it focuses on are all-or-nothing
things: no bug vs any number of any bugs. Basically any other fact about
bugs is more important than that. Before facts, though, you need
definitions and agreements. A «bug» in the «bug tracker» is somewhat
likely to not be one. Bugs are only relative to a statement of what the
programme should do.
> Oh... I don't speak a word of French, so I'm not sure, you may be right.
> I meant (and understood) "demand" more or less as "asking" someone to do
> something, not necessarily in an imperative way.
I guessed that if you made the mistake I thought you had made, then it
must be having some kind of link with the same mistake in French.
>> Miller Puckette opened the 2007 convention by saying that PureData is
>> almost finished.
> Hahahahahahha, yes, I remember that was mentioned in the mailing list. But
> even if I don't know Miller at all, I had seen his performance in Barcelona
> at "OFF ICMC 2006" so I already knew he has a great sense of humor.
I already had read Miller's posts for five years when I attended that
keynote. When he said it, it didn't cross my mind for a second that it
could be a joke. Instead I firmly believed that he was being serious. I
haven't changed my position since, I won't reconsider it, and I'd like you
to reconsider yours. Yes, I've seen Miller perform a few times, but it's
really unrelated.
_ _ __ ___ _____ ________ _____________ _____________________ ...
| Mathieu Bouchard, Montréal, Québec. téléphone: +1.514.383.3801
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