codeless_code 0.1.2

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-18.txt

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+Date: 2010-11-17
+Title: Necessary Features
+Number: 18
+Geekiness: 1
+Names: Elephant's Footprint Clan
+Topics: reuse, requirements
+Illus.0.src: gong.png
+Illus.0.par: 2
+
+This same monk of the Elephant's Footprint was poring over
+the code created by his clan.  There were several competing
+implementations of a particular Data Access Object; at
+present he was attempting to decide which would become the
+definitive one that his clan would adopt.
+
+"Each implementation has its own particular virtues and
+vexations," said the monk to the Java master.  "And each has
+features the others lack.  I must consign all but one to the
+winds of oblivion.  How am I to choose?"
+
+"I cannot answer when I am thirsty," said the master.
+"In the cabinet beside you are three wooden cups.  Fill
+one from the river, the second from the temple well, and the
+third from the water-seller in the village.  Bring all back
+to me without a drop spilled, and I will offer you what
+help I can."
+
+The monk did this, and set all three vessels before
+the master.
+
+"What have you learned?" asked the master.
+
+The monk bowed.  "If you give a coin to the water-seller in
+the village, he will strike a gong twice: once before
+filling your cup, and again when you have had your first
+sip.  If you fill your cup from the temple well, no gong
+sounds but the bucket is heavy.  If you dip your cup in the
+river, the fish are troubled and the river-god must be
+appeased by a gift of ten white stones."
+
+"I can drink but one of these," said the master.  "Which
+will I find the most pleasing?"
+
+The monk considered carefully.  "The river was cold, but not
+altogether clear.  The temple well I have drunk from in the
+past: its waters are bitter with limestone.  And though I am
+not acquainted with the water-seller, I heard his gong many
+times today.  On this evidence, I would choose the cup from
+the water-seller."
+
+"A most sensible conclusion," said the master.  "Indeed, I
+have visited this same water-seller every morning for eight
+years, and found the experience perfectly satisfying each
+time.  Which is the vessel that he filled?"
+
+The master sipped from the indicated cup, and his face fell
+in disappointment.  "Young brother," he said.  "You have
+completely misunderstood my thirst.  Where is the sound of
+the gong?"
+
+- - -
+
+The master's thirst is unsatisfied //
+yet the monk has his answer -- //
+what sound was the vessel that poured it? //
+
+The monk would have fared better //
+if he had set a brass censer on the window-ledge //
+and merely waited for rain. //

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-180.txt

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+Date: 2015-02-22
+Number: 180
+Title: Past Perfect
+Names: Shinpuru
+Topics: change, optimism, pessimism, simplicity
+Geekiness: 1
+
+Snow still covered the temple grounds when a senior nun
+happened upon the old monk [[Shinpuru]] clearing dead stalks
+from his garden.  Soon their talk turned to matters
+befitting two old warriors.
+
+"I liked our profession better in my youth," said the
+nun. "In those days my temple was a simple place, where work
+was pleasant and mastery came easy.  All we needed were text
+editors to code, /make/ to compile, and shell scripts to
+connect everything up.  But today -- what misery!  For each
+new technology I must learn new design patterns, new
+libraries, and new toolchains.  Our build process is
+inflexible, the design meetings interminable, the code
+reviews insulting, the testers intolerant, and the deadlines
+insane."
+
+"Then the years have been kinder to me," said Shinpuru.
+"For in the days of my youth my temple was a primitive
+place, where we celebrated victories that now seem laughably
+small.  But today -- what bliss!  For each new technology
+there are so many tools that with a little study I can
+achieve what would once have been impossible.  And if our
+quickening pace leads me to stumble, a dozen monks will
+catch me before I fall.  You should leave your miserable
+temple and come to mine."
+
+The nun raised an eyebrow.  "My brother Shinpuru is mocking
+me, for we labor side-by-side today, just as we have done
+since we were children."
+
+"Then I should escort you safely back to our abbey," said
+Shinpuru.  "For your eyes are so glued to the beautiful
+scenery behind you, I fear you will walk backwards off that
+cliff."
+
+

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-181.txt

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+Date: 2015-03-01
+Number: 181
+Title: Future Imperfect
+Names: Shinpuru
+Topics: change, optimism, pessimism, ambition, legacy, teamwork
+Geekiness: 1
+Illus.0.src: Weeding.jpg
+Illus.0.par: last
+Illus.0.align: center
+Illus.0.title: By a strange coincidence, after writing this case I found out that Leonard Nimoy tweeted this quote just before he died: "A life is like a garden.  Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."
+
+
+[[#180|This same nun]] visited [[Shinpuru]] in his
+garden the following day, where the monk was doing the last
+of his winter weeding.
+
+"You spoke to me of looking to the future," said the nun.
+"But what are we in the future but mouldering corpses?  Why,
+you are practically half a corpse now!  I have seen how you
+let younger monks lead the projects you are offered.  You
+voice no objection when these upstarts choose arcane new
+technologies that render your decades of knowledge
+irrelevant -- instead you struggle to catch up, and contribute
+less each year than the year before!  Why should I follow
+you when you walk willingly into your own grave?"
+
+Shinpuru pulled a withered stalk, gave it to the nun, and
+said, "This will not suit my garden.  For though it still
+clings to life, it will steal water from the seedlings and
+bear only bitter fruit."
+
+Shinpuru then put his ear to a second stalk, identical to the
+first.  After a moment he nodded.  "This one can stay, for
+it wishes only to be part of a sweet harvest."  He pulled
+the second stalk, crumpled it in his hands, and tilled the flakes
+deep into the soil to await the coming of spring.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-182.txt

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+Date: 2015-03-08
+Number: 182
+Title: Mousetrap
+Names: Zjing, Banzen
+Topics: QA, software analysis, defects, automation, testing, quality
+Geekiness: 2
+Illus.0.src: mouse.jpg
+Illus.0.par: 2
+Illus.0.title: They're really just nature's little cat toys.
+
+A senior monk who was jealous of the nun [[Zjing]]'s recent
+[[#174|promotion]] decided to spy on her work.  Opening a
+recent project, he was astonished to find her code
+a confusing mess, riddled with obvious bugs.
+He notified master [[Banzen]].
+
+The old master thanked the monk for his diligence and bade
+him remain a moment.  Banzen then called young master Zjing
+and put her on speaker.
+
+"Say something about this 'mouse' project you created,"
+ordered Banzen.
+
+"It is of exceedingly poor design," said Zjing.
+
+The senior monk smiled with satisfaction.
+
+Banzen asked, "How poor?"
+
+"This morning, our Software Quality Assessment tools found
+three hundred and eight separate deficiencies," replied Zjing.
+
+"That /is/ a problem," said Banzen.  "If memory serves,
+they should have found three hundred and /twenty/."
+
+"Correct," said Zjing.  "Someone appears to have deactivated
+the rules which detect resource leaks.  The project's self-test
+notified me; I am investigating."
+
+Banzen bid her good hunting and turned to the monk.  "If
+ever you fear there are mice in your walls, listen to common
+wisdom and buy four fine cats.  But listen to Zjing also,
+and release a single mouse among the cats every day --
+to make certain they have not forgotten how to hunt."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-183.txt

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+Date: 2015-03-14
+Number: 183
+Title: Choosing Your Battles
+Names: Zjing, Wangohan, Spider Clan, Bawan, Kaimu, Banzen, Satou
+Topics: learning, mistakes, frameworks, mentoring, trust, Javascript, user interfaces
+Geekiness: 1
+Illus.0.src: sword.jpg
+
+Of all who were pleased with [[Zjing]]'s promotion to Master,
+none was more glad than the monk [[Wangohan]] of the
+[[Spider Clan]].  For Wangohan had many ideas on how to improve the
+Temple's software, and he was eager to share them with a
+sympathetic ear.
+
+"Wangohan has discovered a very promising new user interface
+framework," said Zjing at her weekly teleconference with
+the senior masters.  "He wishes to use it on his next
+project."
+
+/"Another/ framework?" said [[Bawan]].  "We already make use of
+Angular, Backbone, Bootstrap, Dojo, Ember, Jumpstart,
+<nobr>Knockout--"</nobr>
+
+"He believes this one has advantages that the others
+do not," said Zjing.
+
+"He believes?" asked [[Kaimu]], arching his brow.  "And what
+does Zjing believe?"
+
+There was an uncomfortable silence.
+
+"Young master," scowled [[Banzen]] (and now Zjing knew herself
+to be on shaky ground, the same as when her father addressed
+her as /young lady/), "do you fight Wangohan's battles because
+you believe in his cause, prize his friendship, or fear the
+poisons in his spice rack?"
+
+Zjing took a deep breath.  /"Wú,"/ she said, finding sudden
+inspiration.  "If we do not indulge the senior developers
+their most reasonable requests, surely they will grow
+discouraged and cease attempting to improve the temple, and
+we will be the worse for it."
+
+The first two masters looked at Banzen, who considered this.
+"Very well," he said at last. "Let the monk play with his new
+toy."
+
+The novice [[Satou]], apprenticed to Banzen, approached him when
+the meeting had ended.  "Oftimes you have cautioned me away
+from the unknown.  How old must I be before you trust me as
+you trust Wangohan?"
+
+/"Wú,"/ said Banzen.  "I trust only that Zjing's decision is a
+poor one, and that she will soon understand why.  But if we
+do not indulge the young masters their most reasonable
+requests, surely they will grow discouraged and cease
+attempting to improve the temple, and we will be the worse
+for it."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-184.txt

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+Date: 2015-03-22
+Number: 184
+Title: Life
+Names: Jinyu
+Topics: life, simulation, sparse arrays, efficiency
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: In which we get the big picture.
+Illus.0.par: 1
+Illus.0.src: Ant.jpg
+Illus.0.title: "And all the little ants are marching / Red and black antennas waving / They all do it the same / They all do it the same way..."
+
+[[Jinyu]], the Abbess Over All Clans And Concerns, was
+inspecting the doings of her temple when she happened upon
+one of the new mobile-application developers, toiling away
+at his desk.  She peered over the monk's shoulder to see
+what he was working on, but his screen showed only tiny
+black squares pulsating on a white field.  Jinyu rapped the
+monk's head lightly with her cane.
+
+"Explain," said the Abbess, pointing her cane at the screen.
+
+"I have devised a new sparse data structure," said the monk,
+"and I wished to see if I could use it to implement an
+efficient simulation of <a
+href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life">the
+game of 'Life'</a>.
+
+The monk tapped a button on his tablet's screen, clearing it to a
+solid white.  He then drew a jagged black line across it
+with a stylus.  When he tapped this same button again the
+black line burst open, spreading across the display like
+pixellated confetti.
+
+Jinyu frowned.  "So this is 'Life', is it?"
+
+The monk nodded nervously.
+
+Jinyu cleared the screen as she'd seen the monk do.
+Then she took up the stylus and wrote neatly across the display:
+
+    ALL THE LABORS //
+    OF ALL OUR DAYS
+
+When she tapped the button again, the words immediately
+putrefied and dissolved into a squirming puddle of black and
+white maggots.  From the maggots rose swarms of black-pixel
+flies: scattering, multiplying, clashing, dying.  Black
+scavenger ants left the decimated corpses, gliding away
+in unison to unknowable destinies at infinity.  In a short
+time all that was left was a great white desert, where a few
+lonely specks of dust quivered in a faint, invisible wind.
+
+Jinyu gave the tablet back to the monk.
+"A most accurate simulation."
+
+
+
+
+{{*}} The hover text of the illustration is from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXPOHCsgWFw">Dave Matthews Band's "Ants Marching"</a>, which fits nicely with the theme. And if you /really/ want your mind blown, check out this wonderful implementation of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5-iIeKXE8">Life in Life</a>.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-185.txt

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+Date: 2015-04-01
+Number: 185
+Title: Social Media Comment Compression
+Names:
+Topics: social media, user interfaces, space efficiency
+Geekiness: 0
+Tagline: In which we spread a social disease.
+
+Social media is consuming resources at an alarming rate.
+Every day, users post roughly 40 million tweets
+and 3.5 /billion/ Facebook messages /alone/ {{1}} . . . In
+addition to which, we have Google Plus, Kinja, Reddit,
+LiveJournal{{2}}, and so on . . .
+
+Fortunately, semantic analysis of the traffic reveals a /staggering/
+amount of duplication.  So to reduce bandwidth consumption, storage space,
+and work hours lost to "texting thumb",{{3}}
+I propose a <b>new standardized menu</b> that reduces each
+social media comment to a simple five-bit number (0 to 31):
+
+<ol start="0">
+<li> "Like" (or “Plus 1”)
+<li> "Hate" (or “Minus 1”)
+<li> "Whatever" (or “Times 1”)
+<li> tl;dr
+<li> LOL
+<li> SMH
+<li> LOLSMH
+<li> ZOMGROTFLMAOSMH <i>[don't try this IRL].</i>
+<li> Obligatory <a href="http://xkcd.com">XKCD</a>.
+<li> Irrelevant trivia.
+<li> Snark.
+<li> Boojum.
+<li> A picture of your lunch.
+<li> A picture of your junk.
+<li> A picture of the "that's enough internet for today" cat.
+<li> "Firefly" quote.
+<li> Pun.
+<li> Worse pun.
+<li> Small unfunny joke made at expense of absent partner/spouse, giving readers a glimpse into the seething bitterness underlying your joyless relationship.
+<li> Creepy attempt at flirting, via sexual innuendo followed by ;-)
+<li> Clumsy attempt to cover up flirting, via "j/k" followed by ;-)
+<li> Trolling.
+<li> Vaguebooking.
+<li> Sycophantic mollycoddling <i>[now illegal in Indiana].</i>
+<li> Drunken confession <i>[adjust security settings to disable].</i>
+<li> Sweeping generalization.
+<li> #NotAll___.
+<li> Observation that /YOUR/ gender/religion/political party does something /EVEN WORSE./
+<li> Argumentum Ad Hominem.
+<li> F-bombs away!
+<li> Invocation of Godwin's Law <i>[automatically ends thread].</i>
+<li> I made $6400/week working at home, using this one trick invented by a mom to enlarge your penis: ask me how! {{4}}
+</ol>
+
+
+{{1}} Statistics courtesy of <a href="http://www.gwava.com/blog/internet-data-created-daily-2014">this site</a>.
+{{2}} No, really, LiveJournal is still around.  Snopes confirmed it.
+{{3}} "Texting Thumb" is a thing that is real.  It's formally known as <a href="http://ergonomics.about.com/od/De-Quervains_Syndrome/a/What_Is_Texting_Thumb.htm">De Quervain's Syndrome</a>.
+{{4}} 90% of all Internet traffic is this, according to a statistic that I made up just now.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-186.txt

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+Date: 2015-04-07
+Number: 186
+Title: Nothing, Forever
+Names: Yíwen, Banzen
+Topics: legacy
+Geekiness: 0
+Tagline: In which we take a leap of faith.
+
+One cold Spring morning, the nun [[Yíwen]] encountered
+[[#184|a certain monk]] standing in the middle of a bridge,
+his face stained with tears as he gazed into the abyss
+below.
+
+"What ails you, brother?" asked Yíwen, fearing for the
+young man's well-being.
+
+"The futility of existence!" sobbed the monk.  "What is the
+point of our labors, when their fruits spoil so quickly?
+Nothing is forever, least of all the code I write.
+Whatever I do, all will end in dust... in nothing, forever."
+
+Remembering how master Banzen [[#68|once faced]] these same
+dark thoughts, Yíwen removed the [[#151|immense scarf]] she
+was wearing and secured one end to the low railing. "A good
+bungee jump always clears my head," she said.  "There's
+nothing like the plunge to restore one's perspective, don't
+you agree?"  She tied the other end tight around the monk's
+ankles, and before he could ask what /bungee/ meant
+she pushed him over the railing.
+
+The monk screamed all the way down, certain of his doom.
+The scarf went taut -- and stretched, and stretched.  His
+fall came to a gentle stop a few dozen meters above the
+rocks.
+
+The monk burst out laughing with relief.  His bleak mood,
+which had heretofore seemed immutable, was gone.
+The monk was enlightened.  /Nothing is forever,/ he realized.
+
+Upon hearing the monk's laughter, Yíwen smiled
+and continued on her way.
+
+- - -
+
+That afternoon, Yíwen was approached by a boy of the monk's clan.
+
+Said he, "My brother wishes to know when you will reclaim
+your scarf, and him along with it; for he is still dangling
+below the bridge by his ankles.  Though his heart appears
+light, his body is quite heavy and I need your help."
+
+"If his heart is light," said Yíwen, "then he is in a
+better state than when I found him, and my work is done."
+
+The boy's mouth fell open.  "You cannot mean to /leave/ him
+in this state forever!"
+
+Yíwen shook her head.  "Nothing is forever," she said sadly.
+
+
+
+== Qi's commentary
+
+"But never say that to your girlfriend, unless you immediately
+follow it with '...except our love, of course'."
+
+
+
+== Qi's poem
+
+Banzen made an ink painting, to lift his heart in hard times. //
+NOTHING IS FOREVER, said the painting.  It gave him no joy.//
+One day the painting was stolen -- //
+Now Banzen looks at the empty place, and smiles.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-187.txt

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+Date: 2015-04-12
+Number: 187
+Title: Exit Interview
+Names: Bawan, Kaimu, Jinyu
+Topics: interviews, resumes, honesty
+Geekiness: 3
+Tagline: In which we take things at face value.
+Illus.0.src: push.jpg
+Illus.0.title: I have actually had applicants do this to me at an interview, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.  In retrospect I should have hired them all and sent them to Marketing.
+
+Java master [[Bawan]] was interviewing an applicant for the
+[[Elephant's Footprint Clan]].  After the usual preliminary
+questions had been asked (about abstract classes, and how to
+make numbers fizz or buzz), Bawan drew a simple database
+schema on the whiteboard and asked the applicant to define
+some POJOs suitably annotated for Hibernate.
+
+"I don't know what you mean," said the applicant.
+
+"Domain objects," said Bawan, "with Hibernate annotations."
+
+"I still don't know what you mean," said the applicant.
+
+"Perhaps you know them as JPA annotations," offered Bawan.
+
+The applicant shook his head.
+
+"EJB3?"  asked Bawan.  "ORM?"
+
+The applicant shook his head.
+
+Bawan scrutinized a sheet of paper. "Then perhaps you can
+tell me why Hibernate, JPA, EJB3, and ORM are all mentioned
+at the top of your resume, under the major
+heading /Principal Skills/."
+
+"Oh!" said the applicant.  "My recruiter told me to put
+those there.  He said they would prove most beneficial for
+interviews."
+
+"I see," said Bawan.  "Well, that's all the time I have.
+Your next interviewer will be master [[Kaimu]], who is less
+particular about such things.  Turn right, up the stairs,
+look for the door with his name."
+
+The applicant thanked Bawan and departed.
+
+- - -
+
+The next day, Bawan asked Kaimu his opinion of the applicant.
+
+"I never saw him," said Kaimu.  "It appears that he turned
+right from your office instead of left, climbed to the
+pinnacle of the cliff-side tower, and hurled himself through
+a maintenance door normally used to access a WiFi antenna
+on the outside of the building.  Perhaps you can tell me why
+my name was written at the top of that door, above a sign
+saying /Close Eyes, Push Hard/."
+
+"Oh!" said Bawan.  "Madame [[Jinyu]] told me to put those
+there.  She said they would prove most beneficial for
+interviews."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-188.txt

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+Date: 2015-04-18
+Number: 188
+Title: Tough Love
+Names: Kaimu, Banzen, Suku, Bawan
+Topics: kindness, mentoring
+Geekiness: 0
+Tagline: In which we are excellent to each other.
+Illus.0.src: grave.jpg
+Illus.0.title: What's more, he was a Python developer.
+Credits: Many thanks to Aaron Davies for suggesting that the original 0/1 headstone logo looked like a "power on/off" button.  That was just too good a coincidence for me to ignore.
+
+A young monk asked master [[Kaimu]], "Other than technical
+proficiency, what is one essential quality for a master to
+have at all times?"
+
+Kaimu answered   "Kindness."
+
+The monk asked, "When [[Banzen]] corrected me with his staff,
+who was he being kind to? "
+
+Kaimu answered  "Your future self."
+
+The monk asked, "When [[Suku]] denied me a leadership post,
+who was she being kind to?"
+
+Kaimu answered, "Our temple and our customers."
+
+The monk said, "Last week, [[Bawan]] sent an applicant
+plummeting off the cliffside tower for falsifying his resume.
+There were no customers, no temple, and now no
+future self.  Who was Bawan being kind to?"
+
+Kaimu answered,  "The world."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-189.txt

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+Date: 2015-04-26
+Number: 189
+Title: The Dense Forest
+Names: Suku
+Topics: brevity, refactoring, complexity
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: In which we are hopelessly lost.
+Illus.0.src: roll.jpg
+Illus.0.title: Wait a minute... these aren't directing me home; they're instructions for the Macarena...!
+Credits: Thanks to Kyle Tekaucic for pointing out the typo!
+
+[[Suku]] and her apprentices had come to a secluded temple
+in the heart of a immense old forest.  Here the trees grew
+so thick and tall that a raindrop falling on the canopy
+would take a full day to reach the ground as it dripped from
+leaf to leaf.  (As a consequence, the monks in that place
+could walk outside during a thunderstorm and remain as dry
+as toast, but the next day they would have to set out with
+umbrellas open and galoshes on tight, even if the sun was
+shining.)
+
+On their last night in the temple, master Suku was reviewing
+the code of a senior nun.
+
+"Your methods are exceedingly long," said the master.  "This
+one is several hundred lines at least, with nested loops and
+logical branches many levels deep.  It should be refactored
+into at least thirteen separate methods."
+
+The senior nun laughed.  "If I coded your way, a maintainer
+would have to first study a dozen different routines to
+understand the main one.  But with my way, all the code is
+visible in one place.  And they call /you/ a master!"
+
+- - -
+
+The next thing the senior nun remembered was waking alone in
+the forest.  She put a hand to her throbbing head and
+discovered both a fresh lump and a satchel draped around her
+neck.  Pinned to the satchel was a note:
+
+    A shame you slept for so much of our journey through the
+    woods... many paths wind and cross each other, and it
+    would be easy to lose yourself forever.  But fear not!
+    We have left you precise directions home.
+
+Inside the satchel the nun found a thick roll of paper, such
+as merchants used in their cash registers.  The text on the
+outside of the roll began:
+
+    Stand.
+    Face the clump of moss.
+    Bend right knee, lift right foot three inches.
+    Step out eighteen inches with right leg pointed at the nearest oak.
+    Place right foot down.
+    Shift weight to right foot.
+    Bend left knee--
+
+The senior nun's concentration was broken by the sound of
+wolves howling, very near.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-19.txt

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+Date: 2010-11-18
+Title: By Any Other Name
+Number: 19
+Geekiness: 2
+Names: Qi
+Illus.0.src: qi-evolution-top.jpg
+
+The old scribe was asked why, in his official accounts, the
+temples and the clans were named but the many monks and priests
+were not.
+
+"If I gave you a sheet of figures to tally, would you first
+bestow a name upon each number seven?" asked the scribe,
+dismissing the questioner with a wave of an ink-stained
+hand.
+
+This was mentioned to the Java master, who nodded and
+finished his tea.
+
+The next morning the scribe ascended to his office, only
+to find the following written in thick block letters above
+the door:
+
+      public static final int NUM_DAYS_IN_WEEK =
+
+At this, the old scribe [[Qi]] was enlightened.
+
+