Mercurial > hg > BCS
comparison CR_preface.txt @ 50:bb0179426e3f
finale, but middle needs to be filled in
| author | Henry Thompson <ht@markup.co.uk> |
|---|---|
| date | Tue, 19 Nov 2024 20:33:45 +0000 |
| parents | 6a9901310a6a |
| children | 239100b1ae37 |
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| 49:6a9901310a6a | 50:bb0179426e3f |
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| 353 Smith tried to describe the KRL data structures themselves in | 353 Smith tried to describe the KRL data structures themselves in |
| 354 KRL-0. A brief sketch was completed, and in doing it we were made | 354 KRL-0. A brief sketch was completed, and in doing it we were made |
| 355 much more aware of the ways in which the language was inconsistent | 355 much more aware of the ways in which the language was inconsistent |
| 356 and irregular. This initial sketch was the basis for much of the | 356 and irregular. This initial sketch was the basis for much of the |
| 357 development in KRL-1." | 357 development in KRL-1." |
| 358 | |
| 359 -------- | |
| 360 | |
| 361 This is not an easy book to read, but it's a very important book, so | |
| 362 it's worth the effort. As Brian himself has said, it's written rather | |
| 363 like a detective story, in which the same underlying set of facts is | |
| 364 explored repeatedly, getting closer each time to a complete and | |
| 365 self-consistent picture. When I first read it, I said to Brian more | |
| 366 than once "But you keeping using [some term], and it's clear you mean | |
| 367 it in some important, technical, sense, but you haven't _defined_ | |
| 368 it". And he said, "be patient". | |
| 369 | |
| 370 If you care about computer science, either as a practioner, or a | |
| 371 theorist, or a concerned citizen, this book matters for you. It's | |
| 372 conclusions matter, even if parts of it are not meant for you. So | |
| 373 even if you find it hard, as a computer programmer, to see why you | |
| 374 should care if the theorists have got it wrong, be patient. If you're | |
| 375 a theorist, and you find Brian's critique at best irrelevant, and at | |
| 376 worst aggresive, obnoxius and founded in misunderstanding, be patient. | |
| 377 If you're a citizen, and the technical details are off-putting, be | |
| 378 patient. | |
| 379 | |
| 380 If you _are_ patient, and stay the course, When you get to the end you | |
| 381 will realise that you actually do understand the terminology now, and | |
| 382 that even though the work that remains is hugely challenging, and | |
| 383 perhaps only imperfectly grasped by Brian himself, much less the rest | |
| 384 of us, getting it done matters for all of us. As practioners and | |
| 385 theorists, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to make Brian's | |
| 386 vision a reality. As citizens, we need to cheer from the sidelines, | |
| 387 and keep asking questions. We owe him that much. | |
| 388 [Haugeland?] |