Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 20:42:36 -0400 From: "Aryeh M. Friedman" <aryeh.friedman@gmail.com> To: infofarmer@FreeBSD.org Cc: "Jason C. Wells" <jcw@highperformance.net>, fbsd_chat <freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.org> Subject: Re: Tired of Hierarchies Message-ID: <481E57FC.9030804@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <20080504123719.GJ92161@amilo.cenkes.org> References: <481CE0E7.7070900@highperformance.net> <20080504123719.GJ92161@amilo.cenkes.org>
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Andrew Pantyukhin wrote: | On Sat, May 03, 2008 at 03:02:15PM -0700, Jason C. Wells wrote: |> When will we be able to access our computerized data on the |> desktop with out complete dependence on the hierarchy? Has |> anyone in the FOSS community tackled this problem? What |> software is used? | | You know the language is hierarchical, don't you? | | w->(wh->when,what),will,we;b->be;a->able,access;... | | I understand your feelings, but like with so many other technical | problems, the roots of this one grow out of a user's head. | That's where it should be fixed, IMHO. The last sentence is just insulting. The reason being is while yes there are somethings that a natural hieractical it does not mean that there are some other things that should not be. Yes I admit that (at least traditionally) information is naturally hieractical in that you can split it into categories, with the two most important ones in the pre-computer world being library cataloging systems and specializing knowledge by profession. That being said there is a point at which the catagories become so specialized that to even understand what they are requires you to be an expert in the field. For example the difference between algorithms and data structures is only understandable to a programmer (yes non-programmers can get a idea but not all the implications). When applied to hiearictical files systems for example unless you really understand the ins and outs of the unix philosophy it makes very little sense why /bin, /usr/bin and /usr/local/bin are separate dirs (after using unix for 20+ years I still don't understand the diff between /bin and /usr/bin). Requiring stuff be kept in some preset heirachy has among other problems the following problems that come to mind for me: ~ 1. It is hard to make connections between different pieces of knowledge because the hierarchy forces you to think in it's terms not more natural terms ~ 2. Successful use requires you to get inside the head of the person(s) who created the hierarchy and if you think differently then they do oh well ~ 3. Unless your an expert in the system it is often harder to find things then if the system was not used ~ 4. Stuff can easily get lost because it gets mis-cataloged ~ 5. If the system didn't plan for some major catagory it will be crunched into a sub catagory(s) that do not make very much sense for example under Library of Congress computer science is under math (QA76.XXXX) but electronics is under TK510[456].XXXX ~ 6. If viewing the information under a different heiarchical system makes it easier to understand for some applications then very complicated mappings need to be made for example there are whole reference books that do nothing but show side by side the Library of Congress and Duey Decimal call numbers side by side so a reference librarian can use either one when doing interlibrary loan A very good example all the items above is the current ports system. In short the more finally cut we make our categories the harder it is guess/generate the "search key" (either a real key or metaphorically a mental picture of one). For all the above reasons I would argue for flatter hieracies with metahierachies overlayed for different purposes then one typically sees today. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (FreeBSD) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAkgeV/sACgkQk8GFzCrQm4CA6QCgxpfNJBsM0N1FKzoJvpsccLi5 1oIAn3coeb1O+uc/0vAJO3iSxAJ0klTD =T1A9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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