Re: A simpler Web service response format

Olivier Thereaux wrote:

> I disagree with you. Dependencies can go wrong, that far is true. But
> dependencies are good, insofar as they allow developers not to all
> reinvent the wheel. Don't let your frustration lead you to unwise
> generalizations.

Better a wheel I invented, that fits my car, and that I can repair when 
it goes flat, than a wheel that's weighs three times as much of my car, 
that is designed to work on everything from a Ferrari to a Mac truck, 
and that has to be towed to the shop for simple fixes. :-)

Dependencies are not without costs. However the costs are mostly borne 
by the users while the benefits mostly accrue to the developers. Thus 
it's not a coincidence that most open source projects have vastly too 
many dependencies.

This is especially true in dynamically linked languages such as Perl and 
Java. Static linking ameliorates some of the problems with dependencies.

-- 
Elliotte Rusty Harold  elharo@metalab.unc.edu
Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/

Received on Thursday, 1 February 2007 19:08:58 UTC