Subj : How to respond to infeasible advice? (was: Software Job Market Myths) To : comp.programming,comp.software-eng From : rem642b Date : Thu Aug 18 2005 10:52 am > From: CBFalconer > He seems to be full of reasons why he can't do 'that', for any value > of 'that'. That's not true. For some values of 'that', I don't have the resources to perform the task, don't have any money to purchase the resources, and am not the kind of person to mug people on the street to get the money to buy the resources, nor the type of person to shoplift at Fry's Electronics to directly get the needed equipment. For other values of 'that', I do have the resources, so if the idea seems worthwhile I go ahead and give it a try. When the modem on my laptop was working, I tried downloading J2EE, installing it, and then tried using it for my Distributed Java class. It took 6-8 hours on my 39MB-RAM Linux laptop to install a single sample EJB application that came with the J2EE documentation, and once installed I learned that deploytool had a bug whereby it was impossible to upgrade the EJB to match changed source (ANT compiled the source just fine, but deploytool claimed the EJB was already up to date and refused to install the changed code). I tried installing other kinds of J2EE applications, and the only one that both installed and was updatable (but *without* using deploytool) was the JSP application, where you don't need deploytool to update the application, you just edit the JSP source and the next time you try to load that application the server auto-compiles it. I also found that with J2EE running on my 39MB-RAM Linux laptop, the whole system was horrendously slow, with it taking appx. 20 seconds just to switch to a different window when I clicked on it. So then I spent several weeks working out a hack to bypass the deploytool bug that affects all applications except JSP applications, and the slow-computer situation that affected **everything** on the computer whenever J2EE was running, and finally was able to complete the HttpServlet homework assignment, by cross-circuiting from the working JSP application to a fake HttpServlet interface that I wrote myself that could run in both J2EE mode (from the JSP) and J2SE mode (from a test rig I wrote myself). So I could do all my development in J2SE mode using the test rig, then switch to J2EE STOA (*) mode for final validation test about once per day or two when I had a major feature fully implemented and working in the test rig. * (Slow Talkers Of America - Bob and Ray comedy skit) So here's the deal: If somebody suggests something for me to do, but I don't have the resources to do it, should I: #1 Just ignore them and let them wonder why I never responded? #2 Tell them honestly what resources I don't have that would be needed to do what they suggested? Maybe we can work out an alternate idea that is similar to what was suggested but which is within my means, if we talk about it. #3 Lie and say I'm going to do something that I know I can't do? #4 Commit a crime (mugging or shoplifting) to get the facilities I need? #4 is not an option for me, but I threw it in just to see whether any of you were expecting me to do that. I'm not comfortable with #3 either. I've been doing #2 but it causes too much of your kind of flak, so I've tentatively decided to switch to #1, after this article. Nobody has unlimited resources, not even Bill Gates. If somebody suggested to Bill Gates that he should completely terraform the Sahara, converting it back to farmland like it was about 50 thousand years ago, building desalinization plants along the Mediterranean Sea and then pumping the pure water through pipes to irrigate the new farmland, would he immediately drain all the resources of his company to try to do that, or would he explain that even MicroSoft doesn't have such resources, not to mention that it wouldn't be profitable for him or his company? > "If you want to post a followup via groups.google.com, don't use > the broken "Reply" link at the bottom of the article. Click on > "show options" at the top of the article, then click on the > "Reply" at the bottom of the article headers." - Keith Thompson Ah, thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try right now... I'm looking at this text&linklabels on screen: CBFalconer Aug 13, 2:49 pm show options Newsgroups: comp.programming, comp.software-eng From: CBFalconer - Find messages by this author Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 18:49:24 GMT Local: Sat, Aug 13 2005 2:49 pm Subject: Re: Software Job Market Myths Reply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | View Thread | Show original | Report Abuse So I click on "show options", and now I see exactly the same as before except the cursor is now at the top of the screen instead of on the "show options" linklabel. So anyway, moving cursor all the way down to the "Reply" link, clicking on it, and I now see: Sign-in You must sign in to Google to complete the previous action. New to Google Groups? Sign up now So I click on that, and look ahead to spot possible problems: ______________________________ Word Verification: Type the characters you see in the picture below. If you can read this, you do not have images enabled. Please enable images in order to proceed. ______________________________ My access to the net is VT100, so it's impossible to enable images. Google actively discriminates against disabled people trying to use their online services. If anybody knows of any agency in this area which helps disabled people fight such discrimination, please tell me. .