Random Bits of Humor
Humor is a wonderful thing and one of the interesting aspects of having worked in so many different areas is the appreciation I developed for the humor that is specific to those disciplines. Here is a collection of humorous pieces that I have found particularly amusing. Authors are sighted if the original source is known.
UNIX was one of the first computer operating systems to be created and an almost religious following has evolved over the decades. The cult atmosphere created its own language which goes all the way down to the names of the symbols on a typical keyboard. The UNIX Poem (aka Waka Waka Bang Spat) is a tribute to that private language.
The evolution of computer languages is much like that seen in biological systems. First there was machine code that had to be entered in its numeric form (think single cell life). Then came assembly language that translated the machine code values into a more human readable and abstract form (RTS, which means return from subroutine, makes a lot more sense than 0x60 which is the hexadecimal value for this action on the 6502 microprocessor). High level languages like FORTRAN and C came quickly and there was an explosion in terms of diversity and form (Cambrian period). Each language filled a specific niche. The document titled Shooting Yourself in the Foot is a comparison of a number of computer languages which is accomplished by describing how one would approach the basic task of shooting yourself in the foot (which is much easier to do in some languages than others). There are a number of different versions of this document, but the one available on this sight is closest to the first (and best) version that I encountered some 25 years ago. Having written something in every one of these languages, I find this work particularly amusing (I hit the million-lines-of-code mark nearly 10 years ago). There is a lot of truth in this writing.