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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