This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz
by Weiqi Gao.
Original Post: The Number One Ill Of Java ...
Feed Title: Weiqi Gao's Weblog
Feed URL: http://www.weiqigao.com/blog/rss.xml
Feed Description: Sharing My Experience...
... is its stupid "directory structure reflecting the package hierarchy" (mis)feature.
I was "helping" 20-year programming veterans to "understand" this (mis)feature in 1998. I'm still "helping" people to understand it now.
"I have a directory full of Java sources right here. Why do I have to tell javac or my IDE that the sources are three directories up?"
There is no good answer to this question. Sure, you can get use to it. You can even be proud that you are among the 5% programmers who persevered in understanding it. But it doesn't make it right!
You can label the on switch "off" and the off switch "on". People will get used to it. But that doesn't make it right.
It causes unnecessary problems. And its another barrier to true understanding.
That, and zero-based array indexing, have got to go.
Previous Topic
