Random pet peeve: '\0'

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@Grey Wolf

Isn't that an example Simple and Fully Capable?

Unless of course we are talking cross purposes, I'm talking about Simple to use but functionally capable of a lot.


We might be kind of talking about the same thing, maybe I should explain better what I meant in my rather blanket statement.

My description of Civil3D is an example of a fully capable system, but it is complex in terms of being able to configure / design every aspect of the system. Civil3D is intelligent in the sense that individual elements are "aware" of their neighbours, so when the size of one thing changes, all it's neighbours change (or move) too. Another example is that older survey software has set & limited ways of displaying a point, but Civil3D lets one set up point display (or any other element) however they please, and specify which points are displayed in which fashion. On top of this Civil3D can programmed with VBA ( .NET too in C++ yay!), whereas other software from a different brand cannot do this. I am guessing that you would like this type of software too.

Another way of looking at it, is to say that programming (or software, or OS), like mathematics can be arbitrarily complex, because at any one given time there are a finite list of facilities (or abilities), but infinite ways of combining them, and multiple ways of doing the same thing. A simple system might be one that has a reduced set of facilities, or a fixed list of (as opposed to infinite) ways that facilities can be combined.

Also, if we have a system A with x number of facilities or abilities, and another system B with 2 * x facilities, then could one say that system B is twice as complex as system A. Then there is the complexity of each facility - compare the DOS DIR command versus UNIX ls command for example. IMO it is fair to say that a Windows command line is much more simple and restricted than the complex and pretty much unlimited (in the sense of a console) UNIX shell.

Other types of software that are interesting might include FME & LabView:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_Manipulation_Engine
www.ni.com/labview/whatis/


These allow one to process information by drawing a diagram made up of "boxes" joined up with "wires". Boxes can be files or functions, and they can be combined in any way that fits into a input -> function -> output arrangement. Diagrams can specify a function & it is possible to write your own function with code. Now this is very simple, but one can create very complex diagrams. I guess the main point with this software & ones like Civil3D is that one isn't restricted in any way.

@ L B
Many people consider walking to be simple, I assume you learned it in a short time as you suggest simple things should be learned in?


I suspect you might be trolling me a bit here (no worries if you are 8+D ), maybe it's my own fault - I don't know why I have been so keen on philosophical debate in the last few days !

Your question starts with a false opinion, making the implied contradiction invalid.

So the answer is No: because learning to walk is not simple for an infant - it takes practice & perseverance. Adults might think it is, because they take it for granted.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to say that simple things can be learnt faster than complex ones.
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You're right, walking isn't simple.

How about rubber bands? I can't think of a way they're not simple, but they're use in so many ways. Duct Tape? All the things we take for granted because of how simple they are?
>LB prefers PC.

>LB prefers Windows 7.

>LB prefers Google Chrome.


<3
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Well obviously I don't prefer Impersonal Computers ;)
IC? Integrated Circuits? YOU DON'T LIKE EM? :C
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