| Text | {{c1::Gall's Law}} - {{c2::A complex system that works evolved from a simple system that worked}} |
| Extra | A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work.You have to start over with a working simple system.Gall's Law implies that attempts to design highly complex systems are likely to fail. Highly complex systems are rarely built in one go, but evolve instead from more simple systems. The classic example is the world-wide-web. In its current state, it is a highly complex system. However, it was defined initially as a simple way to share content between academic institutions. It was very successful in meeting these goals and evolved to become more complex over time.https://github.com/dwmkerr/hacker-laws#galls-lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gall_(author)#Gall's_law |
| Tags | define::hacker-law |
| Text | {{c1::Law of Demeter}} - {{c2::Don't talk to strangers, only to your immediate collaborators}} |
| Extra | The Law of Demeter, also known as "The Principle of Least Knowledge" is a principle for software design, particularly relevant in object orientated languages. It states that a unit of software should talk only to its immediate collaborators. An object A with a reference to object B can call its methods, but if B has a reference to object C, A should not call Cs methods. So, if C has a doThing()method, A should not invoke it directly; B.getC().doThis(). Following this principal limits the scope of changes, making them easier and safer in future.https://github.com/dwmkerr/hacker-laws#the-law-of-demeter |
| Tags | define::hacker-law |
| Text | {{c1::Shirky Principle}} - {{c2::Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution}} |
| Extra | A company, an industry, or a technology can become so focused on the problem that they are solving, that they can inadvertently perpetuate the problem itself.This may be deliberate, or inadvertent:A company striving to find new nuances to a problem which justify continued development of a solutionBeing unable or unwilling to accept or build a solution which solves the problem completely or obviates it. Related to: Upton Sinclair's famous line, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" Clay Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma https://github.com/dwmkerr/hacker-laws#the-shirky-principlehttps://kk.org/thetechnium/the-shirky-prin/ |
| Tags | define::hacker-law |