Re: RE: Chuck's SVFIG talk

[Luis Commins <Luis@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I'd like to elaborate on some of the points in the 'Manifesto':

1. Complexity. Very subjective term. Looking at nature and the world of physics from a 'distant' perspective it all seems very complex but, digging a little further and narrowing down the focus, you can see simple building blocks. Apply that to an 'application' and you can see that they seem complex but all they boil down to is a finite set of assembly language/machine code instructions. Complexity as much as simplicity have a beauty of their own in that structure, whether regular or irregular has an appeal.
The refuge of the complex is in the simple and vice versa.
I don't know what a more appropriate term would be without having to make clear what you are actually referring to when calling something 'complex' but 'clean' is a word I would use, as in 'clean code'.

2. 'Over elaboration' maybe is a better description of the above.

3 and 4. Yup, keep it tight.

5. This reminds me of Genetix and Rebol.

6. :-)

Much as a manifesto is a good thing I think the main issue/problem is gumption.
It's nice to know what the group is aiming at but without the 'push' there is little we can shove the way of the general industry.
If we can agree on some structure, and take charge of certain issues, we could go a long way. Lets get a website, lets think of applications in both hardware and software and flesh out the bones, MuP21, FPGA whatever, lets set up a central repository of information.
Compare what we have with what we want and see how to get what we need.

MISC is a concept/philosophy and Chuck isn't the only one to have ventured down that path. He has become the 'masthead' of the idea and we can learn a lot from what he is doing only if we know exactly what he is doing, even if it's 'way over our heads' or whatever, without the grain there is no field.

Poo, not another long email...anyway, all the .com, .org and .net variants of www.misc have been taken. www.minimum.org is NOT taken, if you all agree I can buy this name and set up a simple site to start with. I'd welcome other suggestions!!  For example: www.minima.org is free too.
Please let me know as soon as possible, net names are very volatile.

Luis.


>>> "Lloyd R. Prentice" <pai@tiac.net> 12/07/99 16:45:17 >>>
Many thanks to Jeff for transcribing Chuck's SVFIG talk.

<kershnip>

The MISC Manifesto

1. Complexity is the enemy of performance, reliability, creativity and
personal satisfaction.

2. Conventional computing technology is crippled by over elaboration and
unbridled complexity.

3. In analysis we strive for the simplest possible solution.

4. In hardware we strive for ever smaller dies, simpler systems.

5. In software we strive for the minimal set of simple, tight logical
building blocks that we can easily rearrange in simple patterns to solve
every programming problem at hand.

6. Less is inevitably Moore.

Best wishes,

Lloyd R. Prentice