dictionary

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:53:19 +0000, Peter Pearson wrote:

> On 24 Oct 2008 13:17:45 GMT, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>>
>> What are programmers coming to these days? When I was their age, we
>> were expected to *read* the error messages our compilers gave us, not
>> turn to the Interwebs for help as soon there was the tiniest problem.
> 
> Yes, and what's more, the text of the error message was "IEH208".  After
> reading it several times, one looked it up in a big fat set of books,
> where one found the explanation:
> 
>   IEH208: Your program contains an error. Correct the error and resubmit
>   your job.
> 
> An excellent system for purging the world of the weak and timid.

You had reference books? You were lucky! When I was lad, we couldn't 
afford reference books. If we wanted to know what an error code meant, we 
had to rummage through the bins outside of compiler vendors' offices 
looking for discarded documentation.



-- 
Steven