Upcoming PBS special on bit rot

From: Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram_at_cnct.com>
Date: Wed Jan 14 20:40:18 1998

William Donzelli wrote:
>
> > This is very true. Most programmers don't preserve (at least for very long)
> > half-completed software -- even if it was never completed. (Well, Bill
> > Gates and WinBlows anything is an exception!!! ;-)
>
> I really do not buy this point. Just about every software development
> company I know of uses a revision control system to keep every bit of
> working code that the programmers type out. This includes the hundreds
> of tiny revisions that are made between releases, even the "dead-ends".

That's _formal, professional_ programmers with systems that support
revision control -- how much of the development for eight-bit micros
was done on systems without such formal structure back in the 70s,
early 80s? -- I'd wager a gagload.
-- 
Ward Griffiths
Dylan:  How many years must some people exist, 
			before they're allowed to be free?
WDG3rd:  If they "must" exist until they're "allowed",
			they'll never be free.
Received on Wed Jan 14 1998 - 20:40:18 GMT

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