Why aren't these Disney Python jobs for Squeak?

Florin X Mateoc mateoc_florin at jpmorgan.com
Fri Sep 22 14:07:02 UTC 2000


It might be plain silly, but you conveniently gloss over minor details like:
these were not positions at Disney as an enterprise, they were specifically in
the Imagineering group, and they talk about

> robust and efficient client and server software for network games,
> both massively multiplayer and for small groups of players.

which is not just "something", but seems to be exactly Squeak's mandate in
exactly the same group.
If they don't use it there, who else would use it in a non-hobbyist environment
?

Florin






werdna at mucow.com on 09/22/2000 12:50:41 AM

Please respond to squeak at cs.uiuc.edu

To:   squeak at cs.uiuc.edu
cc:   squeak at cs.uiuc.edu (bcc: Florin X Mateoc)
Subject:  Re: Why aren't these Disney Python jobs for Squeak?




At 10:05 AM -0400 9/21/00, Paul Fernhout wrote:
>The following job announcement over at the main Python site caught my
>eye. I found this really disappointing. (Not to say Python isn't a great
>language -- I like it too and use it for various things.) But still, why
>aren't these openings and plans for Squeak?
>
>Obviously internal politics may decide things for non-technical reasons,
>but still, what is it that Squeak needs to make it the platform of
>choice for Disney for these sorts of applications? <hint: business
>Squeak type things...>

This is just plain silly.

Let me let you in on a secret -- Disney, as an enterprise, uses just
about every programming language for something.  Why don't they use
Squeak for everything enterprise-wide instead?  The question, put
this way, doesn't really need to be answered.

But Paul answers his question for us about Python ("I like [Python]
too and use it for various things.")  Sometimes Python may be right
for a particular group or a particular environment.  Sometimes, if
the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a
nail.  On the other hand, sometimes you are asked to hammer a nail --
and if so, its best to use the hammer (ironically,  I caught one of
my employees using a screwdriver today for that very purpose.)

It would be as foolish for an engineer responsible for developing
code at Disney to use a tool just because it originated at Disney as
it would be for someone to refrain from using a tool out of ignorance
or misdirection.

The fact that a particular engineer in Disney will not be using
Squeak on a particular project means nothing at all.  And it would be
ludicrous for Disney, or anyone at all, to "get behind" the system
for any purpose or development environment for which it might not be
productive, just because it came from Disney.
--
Andrew C. Greenberg      acg at netwolves.com
V.P. Eng., R&D,          813.885.2779 (office)
NetWolves Corporation         813.885.2380 (facsimile)
www.netwolves.com

Please use werdna at mucow.com instead of werdna at gate.net








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