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<p>When I just read your quote, this joke came to mind:</p>
<p>What's the difference between a public library and a software
library ?</p>
<p>At the public library, everyone wants to check things out, but
no-one ever wants to return anything. In a source code library,
everyone wants to put something in the library, but programmers
rarely want to take anything in it out, and use it.</p>
<p>Maybe it doesn't seem as funny as the first time I heard it, but
I think it's still true. Maybe a similar thought is behind the
'source motel' quote.<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/13/2024 09:52 AM, Marc Rochkind
wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAOkr1zWVtNgaOgkRU_i=QDnDfJg8O1aJBU4Qa2fhBgqexop1cQ@mail.gmail.com"
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<div>IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering has asked me to
write a retrospective on the influence of SCCS over the last
50 years, as my SCCS paper was published in 1975. They
consider it one of the most influential papers from TSE's
first decade.</div>
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<div>There's a funny quote from Ken Thompson that circulates
from time-to-time:</div>
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<div>"SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check
out!"</div>
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<div>But nobody seems to know what it means exactly. As part of
my research, I asked Ken what the quote meant, sunce I wanted
to include it. He explained that it refers to SCCS storing
binary data in its repository file, preventing UNIX text tools
from operating on the file.</div>
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<div>Of course, this is only one of SCCS's many weaknesses. If
you have anything funny about any of the others, post it here.
I already have all the boring usual stuff (e.g., long-term
locks, file-oriented, no merging).</div>
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<div>Marc Rochkind</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://mrochkind.com">mrochkind.com</a></div>
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