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- Path: newsfeeds.ans.net!btco!newsadm
- From: Shalom Reich <sqr1874@acf4.nyu.edu>
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: Can we do programming without seeing the end user?
- Date: Wed, 03 Apr 1996 10:22:53 -0500
- Organization: Bankers Trust Company
- Message-ID: <316297CD.288C@acf4.nyu.edu>
- References: <BYtKnOggyTxQ071yn@oslonett.no> <4ivp84$o0n@dfw-ixnews5.ix.netcom.com> <4j1a3b$ib4@nntp1.best.com> <Pine.OSF.3.91.960403105707.17337C-100000@bud.cc.swin.edu.au>
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- John Joseph Newbigin wrote:
- >
- > If a programmer wanted to write some hospital administrator software then
- > thay would start with no knowledge of the current system so the result
- > will not be the same as the original system but a new and hopefully
- > improved way that will hospital administrate better than the previous
- > system.
- >
-
- Or, perhaps, the result would not be the same as the original system but
- a new and degraded method for hospital administration . . .
-
- It appears that the current discussion is now revolving around the problem
- of translating from the "problem domain" (hospital administration in this
- example) to the "solution domain" (programming). In order to be a successful
- translator one needs to know the following:
-
- - The source "language" (English or some other ambiguous natural language)
- - The target "language" (some design language or notation)
- - The subject matter (hospital administration - in this example)
-
- If the translator does not know these three areas then the translation has
- a very high probability of not accurately reflecting the intent of the
- speaker of the source language.
-
- Shalom Reich
-