codeless_code 0.1.2

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-2.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+Date: 2010-11-04
+Title: Unknown Unknowns
+Number: 2
+Geekiness: 0
+Topics: requirements
+Illus.0.par: 2
+Illus.0.src: poison.png
+Illus.0.align: center
+Illus.0.title: On second thought, I'll just have the salad.
+
+The Emperor was angered by the defects in the new order
+processing system he had commissioned, and so dispatched a
+messenger to the temple, to investigate the monks there.
+
+"His Excellency sent you his most trusted Business Analysts
+to ensure that all features would work as intended," scowled
+the messenger.  "Did you not comprehend any of their numerous
+PowerPoint presentations?"
+
+"We attended each one," said the Java master.  "And all that
+was heard, was understood."
+
+The master set a small bowl of rice before the messenger,
+who finished it promptly.  The messenger wiped his mouth
+upon his sleeve and continued:
+
+"These same Analysts provided you with ten thousand pages of
+requirements documents, meticulously illustrated down to the
+last Use Case.  Did you not trouble yourselves to examine them?"
+
+"We sifted through each page," said the Java master.  "And
+all that was read, was understood."  The master set a
+steaming cup of tea before the messenger, who downed it in
+one gulp.
+
+The messenger then fell forward onto the table, dead.
+
+The master asked of his students: "Did the messenger not
+know that it is our custom to surround ourselves with poisoned
+food and drink, that we may better resist the urges of the
+flesh?"
+
+Said the wisest monk: "All that was observed by the messenger,
+was understood."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-20.txt

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+Date: 2010-11-20
+Title: Neither Yes Nor No
+Number: 20
+Geekiness: 2
+Names: Elephant's Footprint Clan, Kaimu
+Topics: null, philosophy, booleans, databases, zero, one
+
+A nun of the [[Elephant's Footprint Clan]] sat cross-legged upon
+her desk, quietly contemplating an Entity-Relationship
+diagram on her whiteboard.
+
+The Java master{{*}} observed this and approached.
+
+The God of the Silence Between Words was already in the room.
+
+- - -
+
+The nun pointed to the diagram.  "This column named
+/complete/ is declared to hold an integer.  An examination
+of the data shows that it contains two unique values: zero
+and one.  I presume that the zero indicates falsehood, and
+the one, truth."
+
+Said the master: "Only an initiate can say what is counted
+by these numbers."
+
+Said the God of the Silence Between Words: "The presence of
+a single zero implies the existence of a one to count it,
+and then a two to count both, and likewise to infinity.  Did
+the universe spring thusly from the shell of a serpent's egg?"
+
+- - -
+
+The nun raised the first two fingers on her right hand.  "I
+have considered storing a two in some random row, merely to
+observe the effect on the application."
+
+Said the master: "You seek to determine whether truth is
+regarded as the presence of a one, or the absence of a zero."
+
+Said the God of the Silence Between Words: "The absence of a
+zero implies a presence.  The presence of a zero
+implies an absence.  When the serpent devours its tail
+up to the tip of its tongue, then what remains?"
+
+- - -
+
+The nun pressed her index finger to her chin.  "The column
+also allows nulls.  If the column asks a question,
+convention dictates that a null represents an unknown
+answer."
+
+Said the master: "This null is either the shrewd pause that
+precedes a lie, or the gentle hush before the revelation of
+truth.  Its quality rests entirely in what it will become.
+Only when it ceases to exist may we understand what it was."
+
+Said the God of the Silence Between Words: "The ghost
+borrows the form of the departed.  Yet what shape may we
+assign the spirit of the yet-unborn?"
+
+- - -
+
+The nun steepled her fingers.  "Before the application
+queries the database, the value of this column is unknown.
+Afterwards, any null in this column will be represented
+intentionally as a null Boolean.  The value is then
+simultaneously known and unknown."
+
+Said the master: "We have learned only that we have learned
+nothing, yet this is the root of wisdom."
+
+Said the God of the Silence Between Words: "The sage and the
+fool go to their graves alike in this respect: both believe the
+sage to be a fool.  Where, then, may wisdom be found?"
+
+- - -
+
+The nun folded her hands in her lap.  "The null SQL integer,
+persisted, becomes the null Boolean in fleeting memory.  Two
+nothings, of wholly different natures.  How can absences be
+inequal?"
+
+The master nodded.
+
+The God of the Silence Between Words raised an eyebrow.
+
+
+
+{{*}} Probably [[Kaimu]].

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-200.txt

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+Date: 2015-07-19
+Title: The Boolean
+Number: 200
+Names: Yíwen
+Topics: booleans, binary, opposites
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: In which we are nostalgic for simpler times.
+Credits: Many thanks to Stephen Loftus-Mercer and David Kotsonis for pointing out some tpyos.  I mean typso.  I mean things I spelled wrong.
+Illus.0.src: Bird Girl.jpg
+
+<i>To mark the solemn occasion of the two-hundredth case
+being entered into the annals of the Temple, I asked the nun
+[[Yíwen]] to prepare for me a long, informative, and
+heavily-footnoted treatise on the history of the Boolean
+data type.  To my dismay I received this bit of doggerel
+instead.  Many apologies to those of you who came here seeking
+edification. -- Qi.</i>
+
+- - -
+
+You might //
+not know //
+that long //
+ago
+
+most words, //
+when new, //
+came two //
+by two:
+
+
+        you / me, //
+        aye / nay, //
+        he / she, //
+        we / they,
+
+        girl / boy, //
+        yang / yin, //
+        grief / joy, //
+        out / in.
+
+
+This is, //
+you see, //
+our ten- //
+dency --
+
+treat all //
+in sight //
+as black //
+or white:
+
+
+        yes / no, //
+        old / new, //
+        stop / go, //
+        false / true,
+
+        live / dead, //
+        here / gone, //
+        tail / head, //
+        off / on.
+
+
+No place //
+halfway. //
+No shades //
+of gray.
+
+Just hit //
+or miss. //
+Just that //
+or this:
+
+
+        strong / frail, //
+        smile / frown, //
+        pass / fail, //
+        up / down, //
+
+        quick / slow, //
+        luck / fate, //
+        high / low, //
+        love / hate.
+
+
+But if //
+you dare //
+to look //
+with care --
+
+to stare //
+foursquare
+
+//
+
+at each allegedly opposing pair, //
+
+//
+
+fully aware //
+you must distrust your every instinct, and forswear //
+that inborn, impulsive tendency //
+to impose binary simplicity --
+
+then eventually //
+you may see
+
+that almost nothing //
+is wholly one thing or another.
+
+For words -- like floats and ints and bools -- //
+are merely tools,
+
+providing only crude approximation //
+for the facilitation of communication.
+
+And any string of words, however nice, //
+at best is imprecise,
+
+while at worst may be tragically misleading //
+(and that includes the sentence you're currently reading).
+
+//
+
+So here's //
+my rule:
+
+<i>don't think //
+in bool.</i>
+
+Leave cer- //
+tainty //
+to cir- //
+cuitry
+
+(unless //
+you trust //
+the world //
+is just ...
+
+
+        sane / mad, //
+        short / long, //
+        good / bad, //
+        right / wrong, //
+
+        left / right, //
+        all / none, //
+        day / night, //
+        oh / one).

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-201.txt

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+Date: 2015-07-26
+Title: Ignorance is Bliss
+Number: 201
+Names: Suku, Spider Clan, Jinyu, Zjing, Ruh Cheen, Wangohan, Eku, Mugen
+Topics: management, leadership, experience, truth, lies
+Geekiness: 1
+Tagline: In which our family receives a little bundle of joy.
+Credits: Many thanks to <a href="http://sialiasnest.tumblr.com/">Sialia</a> for suggesting this week's topic.
+
+The [[Spider Clan]] had lost many abbots under master
+[[Suku]], who had little tolerance for managerial
+foolishness.{{*}}  But Suku was now travelling with her
+apprentices, and the Temple had finally recruited its latest
+replacement abbot: an outsider from the West named
+[[Ruh Cheen]].
+
+Ruh Cheen had been hired directly by Madame [[Jinyu]],
+the Abbess Over All Clans And Concerns.
+Since young master [[Zjing]] was currently assigned to the
+Spider Clan, Jinyu called her in to meet the new abbot.
+
+Ruh Cheen bowed clumsily to Zjing.  "I look forward to
+supporting you in our shared mission," he said cheerily.  "I
+see us as two big ugly mules pulling the same cart.  So I'll
+do my best to stay clean out of your way, lest I trip you up
+and we both find ourselves muzzle-down in the mud."
+
+"That is... good news," said Zjing.
+
+Madame Jinyu added, "Ruh Cheen is not only new to our Temple,
+but new to software development as well.  His previous
+position was managing a team of fish skinners."
+
+"That is... less-good news," said Zjing.
+
+"To me, a /java/ is something you drink, and a /tomcat/
+is something you pet," said Ruh Cheen with a smile.  "So
+I'll be depending on you to teach me the ins and outs of
+whatever it is we do here."
+
+"That is... wow," said Zjing, finding herself at a loss for
+a suitable adjective.  "If you will both excuse me, I shall
+inform the Spider Clan of this... news."
+
+- - -
+
+Zjing called her monks in to a private conference.
+Their astonishment turned quickly to fear.
+
+"How can this abbot hope to manage what he does not even
+understand?" asked one.
+
+"How can old Jinyu have hired him?" demanded another.
+
+"Truly she wishes to punish us for having dispatched our
+other abbots!" cried a third.
+
+"If only we could have but /one/ of them back, to save us from
+impending disaster!" lamented a fourth.
+
+The hubub grew until Zjing called for silence.
+
+"Madame Jinyu is no fool," she said.  "And it is not in her
+best interests to set us up for failure.  Therefore it is
+certain that her choice is best for the Temple.  If we
+cannot see the wisdom behind it, then the only error is that
+our eyes have not yet been opened.  Let us be patient, and
+give this strange abbot our support.  By and by we will be
+enlightened."
+
+And as these words left her lips, Zjing herself was
+enlightened.
+
+- - -
+
+Madame Jinyu summoned Zjing to her offices that evening.
+
+"My spies tell me of your soothing words to the Spider
+Clan," said the old Abbess.
+
+"They were my words, but I did not believe them," Zjing confessed
+in a low voice. "I wished only to restore order."
+
+"And order was restored," said the Abbess.  "Why then does
+little Zjing look so troubled?"
+
+Said Zjing: "When I was elevated to master, I thought to
+myself, <i>Speak the truth as you know it, and you will do
+good service.</i> But today I learned that to do good
+service, sometimes one must speak lies cloaked in the
+semblance of wisdom.  What therefore is wisdom?  What
+therefore is truth?"
+
+Said Jinyu: "One evening long ago there was a great storm,
+and my firstborn son ran to me afraid.  I told him that the
+celestial spirits hunted nightmares in the rain; that each
+bolt of lightning was a spear cast from the clouds, and each
+peal of thunder was a demon's dying gasp.  We both slept
+well thereafter.  My falsehood is easy to see, but a greater
+truth hides in its shadow."
+
+
+== Qi's commentary
+
+I would confess that everything I have written in this
+book is a lie, but I cannot, for there is not even a book.
+
+
+== Qi's poem
+
+[[Mugen]] asked Eku, <i>Have I grown fat and homely?</i>  //
+[[Eku]] asked Mugen, <i>Have I grown pale and wrinkled?</i>  //
+When lie answers lie, truth perishes -- //
+Yet two old masters hold hands in the sunset.
+
+
+{{*}} See cases [[#61|61]], [[#62|62]], [[#67|67]], [[#120|120]], and [[#153|153]].

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-202.txt

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+Date: 2015-08-15
+Title: Anchors Aweigh
+Number: 202
+Names: Zjing, Ruh Cheen, Banzen
+Topics: management, Agile, optimism, pessimism, change, planning, documentation, reviews
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: In which our family receives a little bundle of joy.
+Illus.0.src: lifesaver.jpg
+Illus.0.title: If she has to use that oar, it won't be for rowing.
+
+After he had been with the Temple for several weeks, the new abbot
+[[Ruh Cheen]] called up young master [[Zjing]] on his monitor.
+
+"I've been studying all the finicky little details of how
+software gets built here," said Ruh Cheen.  "Now, I don't
+want to ruffle any feathers, but I've come up with a simple
+way to make things go /much/ faster and smoother for
+everyone."
+
+"That is... surprising," said Zjing.
+
+"Now the thing is," said Ruh Cheen, "our developers produce
+an awful lot of diagrams and documents and whatnot, which we
+review at meeting after meeting, just to /plan/ what we're
+going to build.  But this Agile Manifesto says that
+those things are nowhere near as important as having a
+product you can poke at.  So from now on I want us to /do/ a
+lot less /planning,/ and /plan/ on a lot more /doing/.
+Wireframes?  Wastebasket!  Designs?  Don't bother!
+Sign-offs?  Sayonara!"
+
+"Interesting," began Zjing.  "But--"
+
+"Now now..." said Ruh Cheen, "I know that change is
+scary, but I've already pitched the idea to the developers
+and they were downright optimistic."
+
+Feeling the panic rise in her chest, Zjing made a quick excuse
+and ended the call.  When her breathing returned to normal,
+she called master [[Banzen]].
+
+- - -
+
+As she spoke, Zjing fidgeted with a [[#54|cut bundle of
+knotted rope]] that she kept on her desk.  "If I cling to my
+pessimism, it is only because it has been so dearly bought."
+
+"As a perfectionist, I sympathize," said the old master.
+"For perfectionism and pessimism are twin blossoms, both
+rooted in the fear of failure.  But even I must concede that
+when an optimist and a pessimist set out to sea, it is the
+optimist who sails toward the unknown with dreams of
+discovery, while the pessimist seeks only a safe harbor."
+
+"Yet what is the pessimist to do when the shoreline is
+receding from view?" asked Zjing.
+
+"A true pessimist calls upon one of like mind before setting
+foot in the craft," said Banzen.  "Whereupon her friend
+would advise her to bring extra rations, life preservers,
+and a flare gun."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-203.txt

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+Date: 2015-08-22
+Title: In the Stars
+Number: 203
+Names: Tongshing
+Topics: management, customer relations
+Geekiness: 0
+Tagline: In which the fault lies not in ourselves.
+Illus.0.src: constellation.jpg
+Illus.0.title: I drew a slash in front of one of those stars and accidentally commented out the rest of the drawing.
+
+A certain senior monk found himself in need of more
+developers to meet his project's deadline.  He asked the
+clan abbot for help.
+
+Said the abbot: Let us go to [[Tongshing]] the Project Manager;
+for he is wise in the ways of Customer Relationships, and
+can advise us on how best to approach our client.
+
+After hearing their desires, the Project Manager unfolded a
+morning newspaper.  He turned to the page on which the day's
+astrological forecasts were printed, scrutinized it, frowned
+and said: today is not a propitious day.  Consult me again
+tomorrow.
+
+The next day, and the day after, and the day after that, the
+monk and the abbot returned to the Project Manager for
+counsel.  Each time, the Project Manager unfolded his paper,
+shook his head, and told the pair to return tomorrow.
+
+But on the fifth day, Tongshing said: if you each don robes
+of crimson, today will be a most propitious day to ask your
+client for more money.
+
+The monk and the abbot did as they were told, and returned
+to the Temple with a pouch full of silver coins.  Later, the
+monk went to the Project Manager and said: I cannot argue with
+success, but your methods are most unorthodox.  In an
+Enlightened Age such as ours, how did you come to believe in
+astrology?
+
+I do not, said the Project Manager.  But your client does,
+and he subscribes to this same newspaper.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-204.txt

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+Date: 2015-08-30
+Title: Night Shift
+Number: 204
+Names: Banzen, Hwídah
+Topics: localtime, UTC, production support, log files
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: In which time is relative.
+Illus.0.src: wakeup.jpg
+Illus.0.par: last
+Illus.0.align: left
+Illus.1.src: wakeup-hand.jpg
+Illus.1.par: 0
+Illus.1.align: right
+
+The small nun [[Hwídah]] was known by all to be master
+[[Banzen]]'s preferred choice for investigating production
+problems.  Hwídah was not proud of this role, for she
+suspected that it was merely [[#152|Banzen's punishment]]
+for her overly-curious nature.  The fact that she now spent
+hours each day poring over log files did nothing to allay
+this suspicion.
+
+"It is most frustrating," she said to Banzen, when he asked
+how her latest assignment fared.  "In theory, such a problem
+could appear if this batch job did not run at midnight.  Our
+cron logs do show that it started four hours later than
+scheduled, but for the life of me I cannot explain why, and
+I am going cross-eyed from the effort."
+
+Banzen looked at the scrolling text on her monitor.  "Very
+well," he said, "perhaps you have suffered enough.  Pick one
+hour of the evening, and your investigative duties shall be
+limited to that hour."
+
+Hwídah thought a moment.  "The hour starting at nineteen
+o'clock," she said.  "For I will be done with dinner and
+ready to face all challenges."
+
+Banzen nodded and went out.
+
+- - -
+
+Hwídah's cell phone woke her at two thirty-three that night.
+It was Banzen, summoning her to the Temple's Central Command
+Courtyard for an on-call assignment.
+
+"Did we not agree on the hour of nineteen only?" she asked
+blearily.
+
+"We did," said Banzen.  "And for at least one of our users
+it is precisely nineteen thirty-three, local time.  For
+another user it is twenty thirty-three, and so on
+around the globe.  How unfortunate that you did not specify
+your working hour in UTC, for that would have been
+unambiguous."
+
+"Indeed," sighed Hwídah.  "But like most sane individuals, I
+am not in the habit of thinking in UTC."
+
+"Oh, it is quite easy," said Banzen.  "Just take our local
+time and add four hours.  I find it good practice for
+looking at the Temple's cron logs, whose timestamps are
+written in UTC."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-205.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+Date: 2015-09-06
+Title: Plural Effusion
+Number: 205
+Names: Suku
+Topics: naming, collections
+Geekiness: 2
+Tagline: 
+Illus.0.src: bomb.jpg
+Illus.0.par: 2
+Illus.0.title: "Congratulations on your purchase of the Lethal Labs 7000-XE Extreme Enlightenment Delivery System.  Its rugged, tamper-proof construction should provide you with many minutes of contemplative enjoyment."
+
+Master [[Suku]] and her apprentices had chosen to end the
+summer in a valley below a great mountain range, conducting
+code reviews at a minor temple.  This they felt would be
+restful work, reinvigorating them for the long climb ahead.
+Yet the monks of that temple were infuriatingly negligent.
+As the days waned, Suku's patience did also.
+
+One morning Suku entered the cubicle of a particularly
+obtuse monk and lay a printout across his keyboard.
+
+"Each instance of this class represents a row of the /Customers/
+table, is that true?" asked Suku.
+
+"True, true," said the monk.
+
+"Which means that each instance represents a /single customer,/
+does it not?" asked Suku.
+
+"It does," said the monk, "it does."
+
+"Yet you named this class /Customers/ instead of /Customer/,"
+said Suku.
+"You also gave the name 'customers' to variables
+which hold a /single/ instance,
+and 'getCustomers' to methods
+which return a single instance."
+
+"I did, did I?" asked the monk.
+
+"Yes," said Suku.
+"Curiously, you also gave the name 'customers' to variables
+which hold a /collection/ of instances,
+and 'getCustomers' to methods
+which return a collection."
+
+"I see," nodded the monk, furrowing his brow and staring
+hard at the printout.  "I see..."
+
+Suku smiled a tight, unpleasant smile.  Had her apprentices
+been present they would surely have backed away; for it was
+rumored that their master was part serpent, and if provoked
+she could unhinge her jaw and swallow a monk whole.
+
+"All that I have said is equally true for the tables /Parts/
+and /Packages/ and /Purchases/, and their associated
+classes.  Which makes your code quite--"
+
+"Consistent," said the monk proudly. "Consistent."
+
+What happened in the next moment none can say, but it is
+certain that the monk was already unconscious by the time he
+hit the floor.
+
+- - -
+
+The monk awoke in the center of an abandoned barn.  His
+ankle had been chained to a stone meant for tethering bulls.
+
+On the floor beside him lay a pair of scissors, a
+nasty-looking bundle of tubes bristling with wires and
+blinking lights, and a note:
+
+    Time is short. //
+    Precision is vital. //
+    To disarm these bombs, one must only cut //
+    the topmost red wires.