Charlie-Boo <shymath
...@gmail.com> writes:
> On Nov 4, 11:29 am, "Jesse F. Hughes" <je
...@phiwumbda.org> wrote:
>> Charlie-Boo <shymath
...@gmail.com> writes:
>> > People have been calling it that for years. Why would someone spell
>> > out the sub-title and why would us die-hard MUMPS programmers say "The
>> > MUMPS Book ..." when talking about MUMPS? They call it "Charlie's
>> > Book" or "The Advanced MUMPS Text" or ``Handbook of Efficiency
>> > Techniques" or ``HOET".
>> You know, it's funny. I searched the web for "Handbook of Efficiency
>> Techniques". Doesn't take long. Just 16 hits. Every hit used the
>> word MUMPS in the title, aside from your posts here and another post
>> you made athttp://objectmix.com.
>> > See my earlier references to quotes from fans who surround me at
>> > computer conferences.
>> Somehow, your reports of how well-loved you are don't seem all that
>> persuasive to me. Here's the only Usenet review of the book I've
>> found.
>> Beyond there being a _reason_ for it being the "last known copy",
>> note that _tHoMET_ is from the early-early 1980s (late 1970s?) and
>> was out of date/inaccurate within months of it being published.
>> Such efficiency techniques of 'use one letter variable names because
>> they are special-cased for faster lookups' may have been true for
>> some early versions of MUMPS, but by 1982 I know _explicitly_ that
>> neither of the then-modern versions of MUMPS that "technique" was
>> directed act did that any more.
>> However, having a PDF version might be fun for a laugh now and then.
>> (From a 2003 thread found athttp://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.mumps/browse_frm/thread/1abd..."handbook+of+efficiency+techniques"#fe9469092540af20)
>> To be fair, other posters in the thread do not have a negative opinion
>> of the text. They have no opinion at all, because they have either
>> never seen it or forgotten it entirely.
> How do you know they have never seen it or forgotten about it
> entirely? That is a false conclusion.
I agree. On re-reading the posts, I'm not sure how I came away with > There is exactly one indication of someone not being familiar with it,
> from Mary Rose. All 3 are enthusiastic about it:
> Rob Tweed: ``Why not make it available to even more cyberfriends,
> Charlie, by uploading it to our Utility Library - see www.mgateway.com"
> John K Mitchell : ``Let us put it on the camta.net site ;-)"
> Mary Rose Hoare: ``A handbook of efficiency techniques certainly
> sounds interesting. How would I get a copy? If even one of Charlie's
> techniques turned out to be useful or just gave me a new idea it could
> save a lot."
> Then there are two quotations cited:
> "Charlie's book is still the best source for efficiency techniques in
> MUMPS."
> - Fred Hiltz
> "It's well-known that (Charlie's book) is a standard resource for
> MUMPS programmers."
> - Karl at Lovelace
Yes, to be honest, I hadn't noticed these quotations. As it turns