thetaoofpg.htm

编程之道 为你解释编程的真谛！！！

<P>The master coughed and shifted his position slightly. "The lesson is over for 
today," he said.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>4.4</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>Prince Wang's programmer was coding software. His fingers danced upon the 
keyboard. The program compiled without an error message, and the program ran 
like a gentle wind.
<P>"Excellent!" the Prince exclaimed, "Your technique is faultless!"
<P>"Technique?" said the programmer turning from his terminal, "What I follow is 
Tao -- beyond all techniques! When I first began to program I would see before 
me the whole problem in one mass. After three years I no longer saw this mass. 
Instead, I used subroutines. But now I see nothing. My whole being exists in a 
formless void. My senses are idle. My spirit, free to work without plan, follows 
its own instinct. In short, my program writes itself. True, sometimes there are 
difficult problems. I see them coming, I slow down, I watch silently. Then I 
change a single line of code and the difficulties vanish like puffs of idle 
smoke. I then compile the program. I sit still and let the joy of the work fill 
my being. I close my eyes for a moment and then log off."
<P>Prince Wang said, "Would that all of my programmers were as wise!"
<P>
<CENTER>
<HR>

<H3>Book 5 -- <A name=Book5>Maintenance</A></H3>
<H4>Thus spake the master programmer:</H4>
<BLOCKQUOTE>"Though a program be but three lines long, someday it will have to 
  be maintained."</BLOCKQUOTE><STRONG>5.1</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A well-used door needs no oil on its hinges.<BR>A swift-flowing stream does 
not grow stagnant.<BR>Neither sound nor thoughts can travel through a 
vacuum.<BR>Software rots if not used.
<P>These are great mysteries.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>5.2</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A manager asked a programmer how long it would take him to finish the program 
on which he was working. "It will be finished tomorrow," the programmer promptly 
replied.
<P>"I think you are being unrealistic," said the manager, "Truthfully, how long 
will it take?"
<P>The programmer thought for a moment. "I have some features that I wish to 
add. This will take at least two weeks," he finally said.
<P>"Even that is too much to expect," insisted the manager, "I will be satisfied 
if you simply tell me when the program is complete."
<P>The programmer agreed to this.
<P>Several years later, the manager retired. On the way to his retirement 
luncheon, he discovered the programmer asleep at his terminal. He had been 
programming all night.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>5.3</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A novice programmer was once assigned to code a simple financial package.
<P>The novice worked furiously for many days, but when his master reviewed his 
program, he discovered that it contained a screen editor, a set of generalized 
graphics routines, an artificial intelligence interface, but not the slightest 
mention of anything financial.
<P>When the master asked about this, the novice became indignant. "Don't be so 
impatient," he said, "I'll put in the financial stuff eventually."
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>5.4</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>Does a good farmer neglect a crop he has planted? Does a good teacher 
overlook even the most humble student? Does a good father allow a single child 
to starve? Does a good programmer refuse to maintain his code?
<P>
<CENTER>
<HR>

<H3>Book 6 -- <A name=Book6>Management</A></H3>
<H4>Thus spake the master programmer:</H4>
<BLOCKQUOTE>"Let the programmers be many and the managers few -- then all will 
  be productive."</BLOCKQUOTE><STRONG>6.1</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>When managers hold endless meetings, the programmers write games. When 
accountants talk of quarterly profits, the development budget is about to be 
cut. When senior scientists talk blue sky, the clouds are about to roll in.
<P>Truly, this is not the Tao of Programming.
<P>When managers make commitments, game programs are ignored. When accountants 
make long-range plans, harmony and order are about to be restored. When senior 
scientists address the problems at hand, the problems will soon be solved.
<P>Truly, this is the Tao of Programming.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>6.2</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>Why are programmers non-productive?<BR>Because their time is wasted in 
meetings.
<P>Why are programmers rebellious?<BR>Because the management interferes too 
much.
<P>Why are the programmers resigning one by one?<BR>Because they are burnt out.
<P>Having worked for poor management, they no longer value their jobs.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>6.3</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A manager was about to be fired, but a programmer who worked for him invented 
a new program that became popular and sold well. As a result, the manager 
retained his job.
<P>The manager tried to give the programmer a bonus, but the programmer refused 
it, saying, "I wrote the program because I thought it was an interesting 
concept, and thus I expect no reward."
<P>The manager upon hearing this remarked, "This programmer, though he holds a 
position of small esteem, understands well the proper duty of an employee. Let 
us promote him to the exalted position of management consultant!"
<P>But when told this, the programmer once more refused, saying, "I exist so 
that I can program. If I were promoted, I would do nothing but waste everyone's 
time. Can I go now? I have a program that I'm working on."
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>6.4</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A manager went to his programmers and told them: "As regards to your work 
hours: you are going to have to come in at nine in the morning and leave at five 
in the afternoon." At this, all of them became angry and several resigned on the 
spot."
<P>So the manager said: "All right, in that case you may set your own working 
hours, as long as you finish your projects on schedule." The programmers, now 
satisfied, began to come in at noon and work to the wee hours of the morning.
<P>
<CENTER>
<HR>

<H3>Book 7 -- <A name=Book7>Corporate Wisdom</A></H3>
<H4>Thus spake the master programmer:</H4>
<BLOCKQUOTE>"You can demonstrate a program for a corporate executive, but you 
  can't make him computer literate."</BLOCKQUOTE><STRONG>7.1</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A novice asked the master: "In the east there is a great tree- structure that 
men call `Corporate Headquarters'. It is bloated out of shape with vice 
presidents and accountants. It issues a multitude of memos, each saying `Go, 
Hence!' or `Go, Hither!' and nobody knows what is meant. Every year new names 
are put onto the branches, but all to no avail. How can such an unnatural entity 
be?"
<P>The master replied: "You perceive this immense structure and are disturbed 
that it has no rational purpose. Can you not take amusement from its endless 
gyrations? Do you not enjoy the untroubled ease of programming beneath its 
sheltering branches? Why are you bothered by its uselessness?"
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>7.2</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>In the east there is a shark which is larger than all other fish. It changes 
into a bird whose wings are like clouds filling the sky. When this bird moves 
across the land, it brings a message from Corporate Headquarters. This message 
it drops into the midst of the programmers, like a seagull making its mark upon 
the beach. Then the bird mounts on the wind and, with the blue sky at its back, 
returns home.
<P>The novice programmer stares in wonder at the bird, for he understands it 
not. The average programmer dreads the coming of the bird, for he fears its 
message. The master programmer continues to work at his terminal, for he does 
not know that the bird has come and gone.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>7.3</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>The Magician of the Ivory Tower brought his latest invention for the master 
programmer to examine. The magician wheeled a large black box into the master's 
office while the master waited in silence.
<P>"This is an integrated, distributed, general-purpose workstation," began the 
magician, "ergonomically designed with a proprietary operating system, sixth 
generation languages, and multiple state of the art user interfaces. It took my 
assistants several hundred man years to construct. Is it not amazing?"
<P>The master raised his eyebrows slightly. "It is indeed amazing," he said.
<P>"Corporate Headquarters has commanded," continued the magician, "that 
everyone use this workstation as a platform for new programs. Do you agree to 
this?"
<P>"Certainly," replied the master, "I will have it transported to the data 
center immediately!" And the magician returned to his tower, well pleased.
<P>Several days later, a novice wandered into the office of the master 
programmer and said, "I cannot find the listing for my new program. Do you know 
where it might be?"
<P>"Yes," replied the master, "the listings are stacked on the platform in the 
data center."
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>7.4</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>The master programmer moves from program to program without fear. No change 
in management can harm him. He will not be fired, even if the project is 
cancelled. Why is this? He is filled with Tao.
<P>
<CENTER>
<HR>

<H3>Book 8 -- <A name=Book8>Hardware and Software</A></H3>
<H4>Thus spake the master programmer:</H4>
<BLOCKQUOTE>"Without the wind, the grass does not move. Without software, 
  hardware is useless."</BLOCKQUOTE><STRONG>8.1</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A novice asked the master: "I perceive that one computer company is much 
larger than all others. It towers above its competition like a giant among 
dwarfs. Any one of its divisions could comprise an entire business. Why is this 
so?"
<P>The master replied, "Why do you ask such foolish questions? That company is 
large because it is large. If it only made hardware, nobody would buy it. If it 
only made software, nobody would use it. If it only maintained systems, people 
would treat it like a servant. But because it combines all of these things, 
people think it one of the gods! By not seeking to strive, it conquers without 
effort."
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>8.2</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>A master programmer passed a novice programmer one day. The master noted the 
novice's preoccupation with a hand-held computer game. "Excuse me," he said, 
"may I examine it?"
<P>The novice bolted to attention and handed the device to the master. "I see 
that the device claims to have three levels of play: Easy, Medium and Hard," 
said the master. "Yet every such device has another level of play, where the 
device seeks not to conquer the human, nor to be conquered by the human."
<P>"Pray, great master," implored the novice, "how does one find this mysterious 
settings?"
<P>The master dropped the device to the ground and crushed it under foot. And 
suddenly the novice was enlightened.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>8.3</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>There was once a programmer who worked upon microprocessors. "Look at how 
well off I am here," he said to a mainframe programmer who came to visit, "I 
have my own operating system and file storage device. I do not have to share my 
resources with anyone. The software is self- consistent and easy-to-use. Why do 
you not quit your present job and join me here?"
<P>The mainframe programmer then began to describe his system to his friend, 
saying "The mainframe sits like an ancient sage meditating in the midst of the 
data center. Its disk drives lie end-to-end like a great ocean of machinery. The 
software is as multifaceted as a diamond, and as convoluted as a primeval 
jungle. The programs, each unique, move through the system like a swift-flowing 
river. That is why I am happy where I am."
<P>The microcomputer programmer, upon hearing this, fell silent. But the two 
programmers remained friends until the end of their days.
<P>
<CENTER><STRONG>8.4</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>Hardware met Software on the road to Changtse. Software said: "You are Yin 
and I am Yang. If we travel together we will become famous and earn vast sums of 
money." And so the set forth together, thinking to conquer the world.
<P>Presently they met Firmware, who was dressed in tattered rags and hobbled 
along propped on a thorny stick. Firmware said to them: "The Tao lies beyond Yin 
and Yang. It is silent and still as a pool of water. It does not seek fame, 
therefore nobody knows its presence. It does not seek fortune, for it is 
complete within itself. It exists beyond space and time."
<P>Software and Hardware, ashamed, returned to their homes.
<P>
<CENTER>
<HR>

<H3>Book 9 -- <A name=Book9>Epilogue</A></H3>
<H4>Thus spake the master programmer:</H4>
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>"It is time for you to leave."</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
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