The Tar Pit
This is a software engineering production instruction book. Pure non-fiction, plain and simple and one originally published in the mid-1970’s at that. From such a book, one is not likely to imagine comes vivid metaphorical imagery. Not only does the writer not truck with that notion, but the opening lines of the first chapter situates the entirety of the programming industry within the concept of a vivid metaphor. And that is a true metaphor, not just some less committed simile:
“dinosaurs, mammoths, and sabertoothed tigers struggling against the grip of the tar. The fiercer the struggle, the more entangling the tar, and no beast is so strong or so skillful but that he ultimately sinks.
Large-system programming has over the past decade been such a tar pit…”
Programming as Poetry
Not that the author isn’t fond of the simile. In fact, it seems to be his preferential form of metaphorical language and the big surprise is that he wields is like a writer of imaginative fiction rather than dry lecture-like material by combining the direct power of comparison with more fanciful amplification of the simile:
“The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from pure thought-stuff. He builds his castles in the air, from air, creating by exertion of the imagination.”
Debunking the Myth of Manpower
One of the concepts which gets demythologized by the author is the conventional wisdom that simply adding more manpower is enough to make up for falling behind schedule. He makes this accessible and clear through metaphorical imagery, suggesting that this tactic:
“Like dousing a fire with gasoline, this makes matters worse, much worse. More fire requires more gasoline, and thus begins a regenerative cycle which ends in disaster.”
A Team with a Knife
The author is also quite good as engaging metaphor to amplify simple concepts established by others. For instance, he expands upon the metaphorical image forwarded by software engineering pioneer Harlan Mills on the subject of teamwork:
“Mills proposes that each segment of a large job be tackled by a team, but that the team be organized like a surgical team rather than a hog-butchering team. That is, instead of each member cutting away on the problem, one does the cutting and the others give him every support that will enhance his effectiveness and productivity.”
Writing Non-Fiction with the Gusto of Fiction
Like a good writer of fiction, the author of non-fiction instructional advice book is not afraid to go for the gusto. A person unacquainted with programming can understand the basics of this example just as easily as the programming expert; but both will appreciate the comparison in different ways.
“System debugging has always been a graveyard-shift occupation, like astronomy.”
