Re: [tlug] Selective mojibake email

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

>>>>> "Matt" == Matt Gushee <mgushee@example.com> writes:

    Matt> On Thu, Feb 28, 2002 at 02:22:30PM +0900, Stephen
    Matt> J. Turnbull wrote:

    >> The fact is that Microsoft does not properly implement
    >> standards that it doesn't control, nor even its own.

    Matt> Steve, that's unfair.

I disagree.  I think it's accurate.

    Matt> If you said something like "usually does not" or "does not
    Matt> properly implement i18n-related standards,"

By "does not implement" I meant "I know of no situation where
Microsoft will acknowledge non-conformance as a bug, until they
confirm that non-conformance will cost them market share."

    Matt> But at least in that field, their management finds it
    Matt> expedient for the time being to play by the rules;

And they will not hesitate to break existing functionality that
conforms, should the fit take them.  In fact, they regularly do this
strategically, with malice aforethought.

Standards are useful not because they tell you what to do when it
doesn't matter.  Standards are useful because they tell you what to do
when you desperately want to do something else.  If you conform in the
former case and not the latter, you are not implementing the standard.

Microsoft's XSLT conformance is an accident.  And if you depend on it
to continue, you are an accident waiting to happen.


In comp.lang.python <3C7BB093.3020600@example.com> (excellent thread, see
also the thread it forked from which was very much about peaceful
coexistence with Microsoft) Max M <maxm@example.com> writes:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
What I find most amusing about com and .NET is that they are trying to
solve a problem I only had when programming using MS tools.


Ie. when I coded webpages in JScript and wanted to upload a file I had
to buy a component for it (Or write it in JSCript from scratch :-( )


If i wanted to send mail I had to buy a component for it.

Etc. etc.

And most of the modules I bought had bugs in them. Ie. they would work
under one version of Microsoft Scripting Host (MSH) in both VBScript
and JSCript but in another version of MSH the module would only work
under VBScript ... So depending of you servicepack your components
might stop working in your language of choice.


Under Python I have several excellent modules for what I want to
do. If I need something there is usually almost a library available
for it. Or it is easy to make my own library using other Python
libraries.
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Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences     http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp
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