The Seductive Computer (eBook)
XVI, 323 Seiten
Springer London (Verlag)
978-1-84996-498-2 (ISBN)
IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No.
The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented.
IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding.
This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not 'How To Program' but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology.
From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge.
What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.
Derek Partridge gained his PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College, London in 1972. For the next 15 years he worked as a researcher and a teacher in Universities around the world --- Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Chile but primarily in the USA. In 1987 he returned to the UK to the Chair of Computer Science at Exeter University. He has published more than one hundred articles on Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering as well as numerous books, one of which was translated into French, German and Italian. He retired from the University of Exeter in 2008, and now reads, writes and manages his private nature reserve on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in Devon.
IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No. The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented. IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding. This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not 'How To Program' but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology. From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge. What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.
Derek Partridge gained his PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College, London in 1972. For the next 15 years he worked as a researcher and a teacher in Universities around the world --- Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Chile but primarily in the USA. In 1987 he returned to the UK to the Chair of Computer Science at Exeter University. He has published more than one hundred articles on Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering as well as numerous books, one of which was translated into French, German and Italian. He retired from the University of Exeter in 2008, and now reads, writes and manages his private nature reserve on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in Devon.
Acknowledgments 8
Preface 10
Contents 16
Chapter 1: Introduction 18
Endnotes 27
Part I:The Joy of Programming 29
Chapter 2: The Happy Hacker, Love at First Byte 30
Endnotes 36
Chapter 3: The Reluctant Programmer 39
Endnotes 45
Chapter 4: Cooking Up Programs 46
Endnotes 65
Chapter 5: Recipes for What? 66
Endnotes 79
Chapter 6: Programs: The Good, the Bad, and the Verified 81
Endnotes 100
Chapter 7: Going to Ground with Symbols 103
Endnotes 109
Chapter 8: Hooptedoodle 1 – The Proof of the Science is in the Pudding 111
Endnotes 118
Chapter 9: The Soft Machine 121
Endnotes 124
Chapter 10: Computers Only Do as They’re Told 126
Endnotes 139
Chapter 11: Hooptedoodle 2: Recursing Through Tescos 142
Endnotes 156
Part II:The Way of the Seducer 159
Chapter 12: Intimate Relationships of the Computational Kind 160
Endnotes 166
Chapter 13: Programming with Flair 168
Endnotes 186
Chapter 14: Hooptedoodle 3: The Seductive Gene 189
Endnotes 192
Chapter 15: Runaway Programs: Dr Frankenstein’s Predicament 195
Endnotes 211
Chapter 16: Sneakaway Programs: Everybody’s Predicament 215
Endnotes 223
Chapter 17: Hooptedoodle 4: Bases for Data Security 225
Endnotes 229
Chapter 18: The Roles of Software in Society 230
Endnotes 236
Chapter 19: Help from Within 239
Endnotes 246
Part III:Pieces of Resistance 238
Chapter 20: A Moderately Stupid Assistant 247
Endnotes 253
Chapter 21: Watching Programs Work 255
Endnotes 259
Chapter 22: Classical Reconditioning: Doing What Happens Naturally 260
Endnotes 276
Chapter 23: A Computer That Knows When It’s Wrong 280
Endnotes 290
Part IV:The End of the Affair 291
Chapter 24: Analysis and Counselling 292
Chapter 25: The Epilogic 304
Endnotes 308
Glossary 310
Index 321
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 28.10.2010 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | XVI, 323 p. 56 illus., 6 illus. in color. |
| Verlagsort | London |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Mathematik / Informatik ► Informatik ► Datenbanken |
| Informatik ► Netzwerke ► Sicherheit / Firewall | |
| Informatik ► Software Entwicklung ► User Interfaces (HCI) | |
| Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Finanz- / Wirtschaftsmathematik | |
| Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Wirtschaftsinformatik | |
| Schlagworte | Computers in Society • IT Systems • Programming Technology |
| ISBN-10 | 1-84996-498-X / 184996498X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-84996-498-2 / 9781849964982 |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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