Re: Learning methods (valid use for reinventing the wheel?)

You also mentioned Operating Systems, which actually is something that many people have learned by creating their own (maybe not a sophisticated system that would find a real-world use, but enough to get a basic shell up).

It's estimated that about a billion people have online access. Let's assume that everyone who works with computers, is online. So, there are about a billion who work (either in their job, or in their free time) with computers, and hence, have to learn to deal with their operating system. How many people have created their own OS, no matter how trivial, as a way of learning how to use an OS? 1,000? 5,000? Let's be generous, and say 10,000 people learned to use an OS by implementing one. You might call that many people, but it's only 0.001%.

Abigail

Comment on Re: Learning methods (valid use for reinventing the wheel?)

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: Learning methods (valid use for reinventing the wheel?) by hardburn (Abbot) on Oct 10, 2003 at 16:11 UTC
Doesn't matter what the exact number is, only that it's practical to learn the inner-details of an OS that way, as proved by the fact that there are a number of people who do that. Perhaps an insignificant precentage of the Internet population have done it, but only a minority have the combination of time, competence, and will to do so. ---- I wanted to explore how Perl's closures can be manipulated, and ended up creating an object system by accident. -- Schemer Note: All code is untested, unless otherwise stated	[reply]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.

Re: Re: Learning methods (valid use for reinventing the wheel?)
by hardburn (Abbot) on Oct 10, 2003 at 16:11 UTC

Doesn't matter what the exact number is, only that it's practical to learn the inner-details of an OS that way, as proved by the fact that there are a number of people who do that. Perhaps an insignificant precentage of the Internet population have done it, but only a minority have the combination of time, competence, and will to do so.

----
I wanted to explore how Perl's closures can be manipulated, and ended up creating an object system by accident.
-- Schemer

Note: All code is untested, unless otherwise stated

[reply]