Re: Hashtable ordering
Dave Searles wrote:
RedGrittyBrick wrote:
[...]
The people of whom you complain are probably unconsciously assuming
that most people know a term, familiar to them, for a technology that
is still in widespread use.
The point being that the *term* no longer appears to be in widespread use.
Quite right. The Wikipedia page for "ISAM" hasn't been
updated since late July. Anything more than five weeks old
has just *got* to be obsolete.
IMHO reasonable folk will redouble their efforts both to avoid using
niche jargon and to look up unfamiliar terms without complaint.
There's an inherent conflict between those two: if, as you say, people
who cut their teeth during a time when a term was common don't
necessarily realize when it no longer is, then it is helpful to remind
them in case they use such a term undefined.
People who encounter an unfamiliar term and seek to fill in
the gap in their knowledge are to be admired. People who try to
fill the gap by demanding that others fill it for them and who
the reject the advice that GIYF[*] are to be endured. People who
get all shirty and cantankerous at not being spoon-fed with due
deference and adoration are to be avoided. <PLONK>[**]
[*] Another term which has become obsolete (last Wiktionary
update was in early May, more than XVI weeks ago -- given the
antiquity, Roman numerals seem appropriate). And another term
I'm not going to waste time trying to explain to you.
[**] GIYF.
--
Eric Sosman
esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid