If one designs well from scratch, yes, but in the 
world we live in, legacy has to be managed, and yes, 
bad decisions early on eat up the budget later.  That 
is why logisitics is the heart of management.  Not 
all managers are good logisticians.  Trains run 
on available fuel down previously constructed tracks. 
Armies fight on their stomachs.  Women marry for 
property but pick their reproductive mates for their 
genetics.  Programmers, as a result, often have to 
wait late in life to have children. :-)

Sometimes we have to code to the environment that 
chooses us.

len

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Haarman [mailto:mhaarma@[...].edu]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2002, Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote:

>  So programming skill comes down to toilet training.

Or finding efficient ways to appear housebroken.<grin/> 


Pointedly, the programming task is to manage complexity efficiently, not
to eliminate an irreducible, inherent inefficiency.  Note that the savings
from halving the number of pots is eaten up by the necessity of an
occasional extra car.

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