English Idiom in Unix: Directory Recursively

[Rikishi42]

On 2011-05-18, Hans Georg Schaathun <hg at schaathun.net> wrote:
> Now Mac OS X has maintained the folder concept of older mac generations,
> and Windows has cloned it.  They do not want the user to understand
> recursive data structures, and therefore, naturally, avoid the word.

You imply they want to keep their users ignorant of these structures, as if
to keep something valuable from them. Wouldn't it be more honest, more to
the point and much simpler to state they don't NEED the user to understand
recursive - or indeed any other - data structures? And that the user doesn't
NEED to understand or know about them, just to use them?

After all they are users. They use their system for fun, learning or work.
Even a very competent or advanced use of a tool (computer, car, mobile phone,
fridge, TV, radio, toilet) in no way implies an understanding of it's inner
workings. Nor the need, nor the desire.



PS: Isn't this thread much ado about nothing?  :-)
It starts with the misconception (or should I say confusion?) between
performing a recursive job and using a recursive tool to do it. And then it
blazes off in these huge discusions about semantics to define a definition
of an abstraction of a alleady theoretical problem.

Glorious, just frelling glorious.    :-)
We have an expression for that. But I'll avoid using it, since it has the
word 'masturbation' in it...


And PPS: the P(P)S's don't specifically refer to your posting.


-- 
When in doubt, use brute force.
                -- Ken Thompson