In the recent
interview with InformIT, Donald Knuth said:
I also must confess to a strong bias against the fashion for reusable code. To me, "re-editable code" is much, much better than an untouchable black box or toolkit. I could go on and on about this. If you’re totally convinced that reusable code is wonderful, I probably won’t be able to sway you anyway, but you’ll never convince me that reusable code isn’t mostly a menace.
I have tried in vain to locate any place where he talks about this topic at greater length. Does anyone have a link?
Comments
Thu, 15.05.2008 05:01
In general, it is impossible t o prove that something is rand om, and difficult to ascertain that something is suffi [...]
Thu, 15.05.2008 00:24
There should be testing of pat ched programs before they are released, when feasible. This bug could have been caug [...]
Wed, 14.05.2008 16:58
Sure, it's only modifiable if it's a pointer... but pointers are the only practical way to pass many things: strin [...]
Wed, 14.05.2008 16:47
"Especially since you may be d ealing with functions that cal l other functions 5 deep, and one of those functions m [...]
Wed, 14.05.2008 16:22
Imagine that you are knowingly breaking the law by not apply ing for the appropriate visas. Not only that, but you [...]
Tue, 13.05.2008 18:59
I have heard that argument bef ore, and frankly, I'm unconvin ced. I am not aware of any Am erican jurisdiction wher [...]
Tue, 13.05.2008 18:55
What a wonderful point and pos t. You're quite right, and it 's high time we all revisit th e notion that legality d [...]
Tue, 13.05.2008 18:52
Quite right. Article fixed ab ove.