Phoenix.pm:

intertwingled intertwingled at qwest.net
Sun Aug 25 14:57:27 CDT 2002


>
>2.  I did not get the joke about C++ being a "bag" on the side of C?  Do you 
>mean like a goiter(sp?) hanging off of someone's neck?  Or am I totally 
>missing the point here?
>

The original quote is from _Soul_Of_A_New_Machine_, by Tracy Kidder.  The
man who coined it was a computer architect (Wallach) who was ordered by his
boss (West) to create a 32 bit version of a 16 bit (Eclipse) minicomputer:

   Accordingly, West called Wallach to his office in the spring
   of 1978 and asked him to draw up the architecture for a 32-bit
   Eclipse.

   Steve Wallach glared at West.  Wallach got to his feet and,
   coining a phrase, said:  "**** That!  I'm not puttin' a bag on
   the side of the Eclipse."  Then he stomped out of West's office.

I take this to mean that Wallach would rather have designed a sleek
new 32 bit architecture rather than create one that was hobbled by
compatibility with an older 16 bit architecture.

That's what Stroustrup should have done.  Instead of taking a sleek
small language like C and sticking this huge complicated C++ mess
"on the side" of it, he should have developed his own new language.
Leave C language alone, dammit!

Funny thing is, Wallach eventually did go on to design a 32 bit
Eclipse, (the Data General Eclipse MV/8000) and it turned out to be
a big success.  =P

_Soul_Of_A_New_Machine_ is a very good read.

Tony


--
even the safest course is fraught with peril




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