The big controversy at the office this week was a “radical” idea offered by one of our developers regarding data collection with a series of web-based forms.

The idea was that rather than just pouring the data into a relational database like everyone else does, we’d build up an XML tree, essentially a gigantic (in this case, ~200K) string, and pass that around from form to form.

The advantages of this, if I understood correctly, would be to simplify the data model design and eliminate the need for table joins.

Of course, it also violates every known rule of efficient data access and ratchets up the processing requirements by several orders of magnitude, but that didn’t stop one of the development managers from throwing his full-fledged support behind it.

I TA’ed undergraduate software engineering classes for a year at USC, and every so often an underclassman would advance some “radical” theory on how a programming problem ought to be solved, unaware of the fact that their proposed approach had actually been discredited 15 years earlier.

That’s okay . . . by the time they completed their degree, they usually had a much better understanding of the history and foundation of their discipline.

But the advent of web development has brought us a new generation of programmers, many of whom have not had the benefit of a formal education in computer science, which leads to sophomoric programming strategies being proposed by “professional” developers . . .

Thus spoke The Programmer.

Him: I’m going to Shooters tonight, if you want to go. Have you ever been there on Wednesdays?
Her: I’ve been to Shooters.
Him: Have you ever been on a Wednesday?
Her: Actually, I try to avoid places like that.
Him: I’ve never been either. My buddy wanted to go.

Only one in five high school seniors has a solid grasp of science, according to the results of a national test released today.

Related link: Having It All!

Cato began to urge that the only sure defense against a resurgent Carthage was to destroy it. Rome would never be safe so long as Carthage stood. He made a campaign of it: Carthago delenda est! — Carthage must be destroyed! In the 150s this was Cato’s slogan, repeated endlessly. At parties he would bring it up — Carthago delenda est! In the Senate he might be speaking on any subject, but always found a way to work in his slogan: the harbor at Ostia should be expanded . . . and Carthage must be destroyed! the appointment of Gaius Gaius to provincial governor should be approved . . . and Carthage must be destroyed! A vote of thanks to a loyal tribal chieftain . . . and Carthage must be destroyed!

— Dr. E.L. Skip Knox, “The Punic Wars”

I tried to conduct myself in such a way that I wanted my players to act. I think our youngsters, whether they be basketball players or our children at home, need models more than they need critics.

— John Wooden