numToChar(13)

[Jim Ault]

On 3/31/08 8:01 AM, "Joe Lewis Wilkins" <pepetoo at cox.net> wrote:

> Jim,
> 
> You paint a pretty bleak picture to the aspiring "programmer/coder/
> scripter". Are we already too far gone to espouse the establishment of
> some kind of standard? Or, at least, some method of Universal
> conversion to a common standard; perhaps something as mundane as a
> conversion function? I, for one, would not have the foggiest of ideas
> as to how to begin such a task, but you seem to have something of an
> handle on the subject. Thanks for your, as always, insightful
> contribution. 

Well, Joe, it is like a carpenter in his shop.  Should he standardize on
tools that only build cabinets, and only use hard woods?  Or should he use
the tools that produce the best result for the task at hand.

There are so many technologies involved in computer operating systems and
data handling, a programmer has to make choices, informed choices.  The
modern computer is nothing like those before the use of graphics video cards
and multi-media.

If you want to tie into efficient data servers and ftp sites, you need to
speak their language and obey their protocols.  Everything has to be encoded
and delimited some how, even your hard drive formatting (which you probably
take for granted).

Choose a topic, explore, learn, use examples, then move on.  For the moment,
I am not using databases or shell commands or javascript, and only very
limited php.  It takes too much time to learn new areas.

The "bleak picture" is actually a rich scenario of capabilities and
opportunities.  If it was easy, everybody would be doing it,

The "conversion to a standard" does not make sense because all of the
different technologies are striving for optimization of resources, speed,
and market share.  Inventive programmers only have time to build tools if
they are on projects that pay them for the investment.  The reason I have
experience in certain areas is because a client hired me to build something
specific and it was worth my while to delve.

It is hard to imagine any "standard" since the tasks are so varied.  Now add
to the fact that there are thousands of brilliant creative minds that will
be solving problems that should not be limited to a "standard" way of
working with information.  It is hard to stifle creativity for long.

Just my opinion sitting in my little corner of the programming universe.

Jim Ault
Las Vegas