Software bloat (Larkin was right)
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From: krw on 26 May 2010 20:46 On Wed, 26 May 2010 10:06:00 +0100, "Fredxx" <fredxx(a)spam.com> wrote: >John Larkin wrote: >> On Tue, 25 May 2010 09:12:05 -0700 (PDT), d_s_klein >> <d_s_klein(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >>> >>> I've had *very* good responses when I've called Altera and said that >>> I was wanting to migrate. >>> >>> That said, no matter which side of the fence (A<->X) I'm on, it >>> always looks greener on the other side :) >>> >>> RK >> >> Xilinx probably has better silicon, and it works great. The software >> is a train wreck. >> > >It seems nothing much has changed in the past decade or more! Shame Xilinx >don't make more effort with their software, then they'd win on both counts. I was using Xilinx' software (ISE) a couple of years ago. It seemed to work fairly well, but was a PITA to use (far more complicated than it needed to be). Ten years ago it was far worse (Synplicity was a must). According to John, it's back to broken. Dunno, I'm not likely to use Xilinx for some time.
From: JosephKK on 26 May 2010 22:15 On Tue, 25 May 2010 05:57:33 -0700, D Yuniskis <not.going.to.be(a)seen.com> wrote: >Hi Michael, > >Michael A. Terrell wrote: >>>> Sorry, I meant no publisher's stock number, like older books had. >>> Ah, OK. >>> >>>> They just named the publisher and listed it as 'Book Club Edition' which >>>> makes it hard to find any additional information on some books. I still >>> Understood. This is particularly true of "short run" >>> titles. >> >> Some of the book club editions are the standard volume, printed on >> newsprint grade paper so the printing costs are lower. They aren't >> intended to have a long life. Unfortunately, some collections of short >> Sci-Fi stories can only be found in that format. > >Understood. I have a copy of _Farewell to the Master_ (ties >with _The Sentinel_ as my favorite short story) in an >October 1940 issue of _Astounding Science Fiction_. I rarely >open it for fear of the pages "breaking" (I have another >copy in an anthology that is more resilient). > If you like those you may like the novel "Across a Billion Years" <snip>
From: JosephKK on 26 May 2010 22:25 On Sun, 23 May 2010 13:27:11 -0700, D Yuniskis <not.going.to.be(a)seen.com> wrote: >Hi Joseph, > >JosephKK wrote: >> The idea of user interface as a FSM surprised be but made immediate >> sense. > >IMO, it is the only *practical* way of doing a user interface! >User interfaces are inherently stateful. And, a bunch of ad hoc >code to implement them (which conceptually serves the role of >an FSM) is awfully hard to debug. > >"What is valid, *here*?" >"What if *this* happens, now?" > >These sorts of things are really hard to *guarantee* when you >have an ad hoc approach to the UI. > >OTOH, you can almost mechanically verify the proper operation >of something that uses a more structured FSM approach as it >breaks the problem down into nice bite-sized pieces that can >be validated separately. Hey, i am already sold. Once you mentioned using FSM for UI development (a few posts ago), its value was fairly obvious to me.
From: Michael A. Terrell on 27 May 2010 00:15 D Yuniskis wrote: > > Hi Michael, > > Michael A. Terrell wrote: > >> Yeah, the glue gets "funny" and the labels "yellow". > >> I just use mineral spirits to remove self-adhesive labels. > >> But, "on paper" you have to be careful (though covers are > >> usually "coated") as once the liquid gets "around the side" > >> it seeps into the cover and discolors it. > > > > The citrus oil based 'Goo Gone' seems to do less damage. In some > > cases it completely evaporates and leaves no sign a label was ever > > Hmmm, I'll have to try it. I have an assortment of solvents > that I use for cleaning and "dissolving" that I "escalate" > until I have achieved the results I want *or* succeeded in > "melting" the underlying material (e.g., many plastics) > > > there. I put a drop or two on top of the label to soften the adhesive. > > If I time it right it will peel off and leave no old adhesive. The > > others get a quick wipe with a paper towel dampened with more Goo Gone. > > What I hate are used book stores that rubber stamp their advertising all > > over a book. > > Yup. Even more amusing when you see different stamps from > different stores from various parts of the country. I.e, > you know the book has "traveled". > > >>> Maybe the group could contact a label manufacturer or large printing > >>> company and request some obsolete or misprint labels be donated? > >> Possible. They have a decent supply of their current labels > >> (printed on a laser printer and then cut to size) so they > >> haven't been pestering me. Something will turn up sooner > >> or later... > > > > Do you have a 'Dollar tree' store in the area? A package of pre > > printed of yard sale stickers is $1. > > Are they removable? If they aren't on the book for too long. :) > >> The library (branch) posts the sale several weeks in advance. > >> It is usually well attended "by locals". Their goal is more > >> to get rid of the books than it is to try to make much money > >> (I think they only bring in a few kilobucks). They want to > >> keep people interested in the library, give people a reason > >> to *come* to the library, etc. (*this* branch, not The Library). > > > > Around here "a couple weeks" isn't enough notice for a Saturday > > Ah. Here the thinking is the folks who "frequent" the library > are more likely the types who will be interested in those materials. > E.g., folks outside a red cross blood center are more likely to > be frequent donors... (than the people who are NEVER "outside > a red cross blood center" :> ) This is an area of mostly retirees so you have regulars who die or end up no longer able to read as much. That means that you need a steady supply of new customers. > > event. That is why I am trying to get them to post a tentative schedule > > for the year, then set a firm date for each sale as soon as possible. > > They aren't greedy. In fact, at their sales they let you fill a brown > > paper grocery bag for $1 from their stock of bargain books. This is a > > Our county-wide book sales are like that. Several days each > (plus a two week event in February). They have "bag days" > to try to move stuff out quicker -- though I think their bags are $5. > > > big county, with a lot of retirees. They buy books, read them, then > > donate them back to the group. There are dozens of used book stores, > > and probably 100 flea market book dealers in the county. > > Here, the sales are timed so "winter visitors" (retirees) > can attend. They buy books and donate them back before > they "go home" in April. > > >>> Not really. they were aggressive and spent a long time saving the > >> Ah, OK. Here they try to spend the money quickly to get things > >> *into* the library (plus things like recognition dinners for > >> the volunteers and staff, scholarships, etc.) > > > > the old building was a house atone time. It was too small and not > > disabled friendly. There was a ramp added to the rear of the building, > > but the door was kept locked and you had to ring a doorbell, then wait > > for it to be unlocked. Replacing the building with a more efficient and > > larger building was their primary goal for a long time. It took over > > ten years to find and purchase the property. Too many people would put > > land up for sale that met their needs, then double or triple the asking > > price when the county tried to buy it. > > Understood. Our original library (house) ended up with a > modern addition (maybe 1000 sq ft). Then, some decades later > they built a modern library (the old "house" only had 3 > parking spaces!). I imagine it is easily 20,000 plus has > a yet unused full basement (another 20K ft). The old library only had about ten spaces, which meant that you had to park a block or more away and walk. Only one space was marked handicapped parking. That was one problem finding a new location, where they would have enough room for extra parking. The main county library is in an old shopping center. Most of it is now the library, with about 25% used for the county records storage. The former tenant was a Scotty's hardware & building material store. It has room for a couple hundred cars and shares that lot with our Veterans park. <http://maps.google.com/maps?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&q=ocala+veterans+park&ie=UTF8&hq=veterans+park&hnear=Ocala,+FL&ll=29.187086,-82.100658&spn=0.001517,0.00239&t=h&z=19> is the new library. The veterans park is to the left if you zoom out. The upper 75% is the library. Even with that many spaces, there are times that it is difficult to find a parking spot close to the entrance. -- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.
From: Fredxx on 27 May 2010 04:44
<krw(a)att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz> wrote in message news:6vfrv5tn7amr16jqeaav62fr5hp4sre227(a)4ax.com... > On Wed, 26 May 2010 10:06:00 +0100, "Fredxx" <fredxx(a)spam.com> wrote: > >>John Larkin wrote: >>> On Tue, 25 May 2010 09:12:05 -0700 (PDT), d_s_klein >>> <d_s_klein(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> I've had *very* good responses when I've called Altera and said that >>>> I was wanting to migrate. >>>> >>>> That said, no matter which side of the fence (A<->X) I'm on, it >>>> always looks greener on the other side :) >>>> >>>> RK >>> >>> Xilinx probably has better silicon, and it works great. The software >>> is a train wreck. >>> >> >>It seems nothing much has changed in the past decade or more! Shame >>Xilinx >>don't make more effort with their software, then they'd win on both >>counts. > > I was using Xilinx' software (ISE) a couple of years ago. It seemed to > work > fairly well, but was a PITA to use (far more complicated than it needed to > be). Ten years ago it was far worse (Synplicity was a must). According > to > John, it's back to broken. Dunno, I'm not likely to use Xilinx for some > time. Its always been broken in some way or another. I get frustrated at the number of times I get an error message where the software has tied itself up in knots and inviting me to open a webcase. And while Xilinx know what the error code is, there's no help available on the site to help the cause. It's usually a piece of code, which is of correct syntax, but something ISE can't cope with and throws the baby out with the bath water. The code can be isolated by commenting chunks out, and there's always been a work around, but it's not untypical for their webcase to take a month to sort out. |