Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:20:47 -0500 (EST) From: doug@safeport.com To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> Cc: David Jackson <djackson452@gmail.com>, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Robert Bonomi <bonomi@mail.r-bonomi.com> Subject: Re: FreeBSD Kernel Internals Documentation Message-ID: <alpine.BSF.2.00.1112301204560.15394@fledge.watson.org> In-Reply-To: <20111230170339.6d6af931.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <CAGy-%2Bi-NN_SOYrrE6WgHyCBa5VzFexwT_C9UYhO3GyjvfsxpAA@mail.gmail.com> <201112300604.pBU64dqB069626@mail.r-bonomi.com> <CAGy-%2Bi-m7hUfrUPKaG6FAiv8cor6%2BWXUW-OwWA=uOAt0yDToag@mail.gmail.com> <20111230170339.6d6af931.freebsd@edvax.de>
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On Fri, 30 Dec 2011, Polytropon wrote: > On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:22:31 -0500, David Jackson wrote: >> Of course, those best able to document are those who wrote it in >> the first place, since they already know how it works. > > A fact seems to be: "Modern" programmers don't bother > with documenting, or coding guidelines, or style or > other things that "slow down" development. This > attitude isn't new in general, as it has been done > that way even in IT dinosaur times: There are COBOL > programs still running, and nobody knows _why_ they > are running and _how_. If someone had written usable > documentation at the time the program was created > and maintained, skilled COBOL h4x0rs wouldn't be > able to write the desired salary on the contract > as _they_ wish. :-) As a [former] mainframer, I might take issue limiting the above to modern. I learned MVT and then MVS from the microfish and crashing rather larger (physically) and expensive computers. Not much else was available [outside of IBM]. > But keep in mind: Writing code and writing documentation > are two different things. There are people who are > excellent coders, but bad writers. In some teams, > you'll find code writers and doc writers separated, > but working together. This approach isn't free of > problems, but also seems to work. > In this thread if anyone mentioned Robert Watson, kernel source cross-reference, I missed it. Also every so often Kirk McKusick teaches a course on BSD internals. Kind of expensive but very thorough.
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