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You could keep whittling on a chair leg forever, but I don't think that's a value. I think software is a material, like steel. And like steel, there are properties of software you can take advantage of to build in different ways. For example, its ability to be turing-incomplete, or stateless/immutable, formally verified, interpreted vs compiled, composeable vs fully integrated, distributed vs isolated, etc. You can use the material many different ways, thus building a very different product. It's also a material like a gas, in that it fills any container it's stored in. Or perhaps a flame, as it consumes all resources you give it? Or a clay, as it's easy to work, but needs to be specially treated for it to be stable long-term... Anyway, these properties of the material need to be better understood, so builders can understand the right ways to use it. If you are building a bridge, I sure as heck hope you're using the right methods. |