On Tue, Apr 27, 2004 at 07:20:26PM +0200, Thiemo Seufer wrote: > Thomas Hood wrote: > > I don't think that this debate will terminate because I don't think > > that it is possible to come up with a definition that will decide > > every case. There is a clear difference between programs and data in > > many familiar computing situations; in other situations there is no > > clear difference. > > Name one such situation. Consider a source code file that has Doxygen-style comments intertwined with it. Is that file source (i.e., a program), or is it documentation? Consider a webserver with static pages, but static pages that are full of JavaScript. From the viewpoint of the webserver, are those pages programs, or data? Consider the already beaten-to-death horse of firmware. When compiled into the kernel, is firmware a program, or is it data? In all three of these situtations, many will argue one; many others will argue the other. It is hard, if not impossible, to come up with a definition of "programs" vs "data" that is not problematic. -- EARTH smog | bricks AIR -- mud -- FIRE soda water | tequila WATER -- with thanks to fortune
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