Re: [Algorithms] General purpose task parallel threading approach

[Conor S. <bor...@ya...>]

"We could keep going, if you like, down to the fundamental matter of the
universe, as well as arguing whether light behaves as waves, particles or
both."

Apart from the fact that those aren't really human created components created in a programming language (that we know of).

"But even you have to admit that in the context that not only the statement
was made, but within this entire discussion exists, that there is a base
level of functionality assumed to exist, to which the debate does not apply."

No, the argument expanded and Christer made a blanket statement. My points where that software is nearly always written through composition of general components and that just because you weren't always the one doing the work on said components, it doesn't mean that they are a very small proportion of the work involved.

"So I for one reject your argument on the grounds of "ad absurdum". Not that
you likely care."

Reductio ad absurdum are actually formal logical arguments (if the logic is correct), it's a formal logical fallacy to dismiss an argument on the grounds of ad absurdum. That doesn't mean they aren't facetious, but it certainly isn't grounds to reject an argument. 

Cheers,
Conor     

-----Original Message-----
From: Conor Stokes [mailto:bor...@ya...] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:25 AM
To: Game Development Algorithms
Subject: Re: [Algorithms] General purpose task parallel threading approach


"Other than classroom examples, software is NOT written through
composition of 'general components'. And even in the small subset
of software writing where your statement may hold true, writing
those components was a very small amount of work of the total."

No, every piece of software in a modern language is written through
composition of "general components", from the machine code op-codes, up to
the language constructs they come from, up to the libraries, patterns and
algorithms they're constructed with. Unless you dislike modern conveniences
like "arrays" and "for loops", or you feel the need to write binary
searches, quicksorts, disk-io and image-decompression routines inline every
time you come across the need for them (in a language of silicon, plastic
and copper no less!). Those may be small pieces of code, but serialization
frameworks, database frameworks and communications frameworks that are used
in extremely general ways and can often be much larger than the small pieces
of business logic that ties them together. 

Someone writes the middleware and the infrastructure code, the VHDL, the
compilers, the drivers, the operating system and the standard libraries, it
may not be you or the coder next to you, but I can assure you there is a
huge amount of it in the world (have a look on sourceforge at the number of
different component libraries relative the number of "application" projects)
and it's a lot of work for somebody. Then again, the better general
components you have, the less often you need to re-write them (or go looking
for them) and the rarer they might seem from the perspective of someone who
spends a lot of time solving specific problems with them. 

Cheers,
Conor


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