Small matter of programming: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:33, 4 December 2008

Revision as of 10:34, 4 December 2008

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'''Small Matter of Programming''' ('''SMOP''') or '''Small Matter of Programming''' was among the "games" described in an article written [[pseudonym]]ously <ref> {{Citation | last = Shedley | first = Ethan I. | title = [[Big System Games]] | magazine = [[Datamation]] | volume = 17 | issue = 7 | pages = 22–25 | publisher = Technical Publishing Company, 1301 South Grove Ave., Barrington, Illinois 60010 | date = April 1, 1971 }}</ref> as paralleling the ''[[Games People Play (book)|Games People Play]]'' identified by Dr. [[Eric Berne]] in the field of self-help psychology. The game essentially consists of proposing seemingly simple adjustments to a design, and leaving to someone else the problem of fitting the unexpected consequences into the schedule.

When used in computer science, a SMOP is the smallest unit of software engineering effort which can be allocated at the onset of a project. A SMOP has the curious property that its size increases exponentially as the project progresses. It is not uncommon for a SMOP to grow to man-decades. There is anecdotal evidence of SMOPs encompassing man-centuries{{fact}}.

The implication of using the phrase is either

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:#A piece of code, not yet written, whose anticipated length is significantly greater than its complexity. Used to refer to a program that could obviously be written, but is not worth the trouble. Also used ironically to imply that a difficult problem can be easily solved because a program can be written to do it; the irony is that it is very clear that writing such a program will be a great deal of work. “It's easy to enhance a FORTRAN compiler to compile COBOL as well; it's just a SMOP.”

:#Often used ironically by the intended victim when a suggestion for a program is made which seems easy to the suggester, but is obviously (to the victim) a lot of work. Compare ''[http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/M/minor-detail.html minor detail]''.

Note that SMOPs are often logarithmic in nature. Each additional SMOP adds another order of magnitude onto calendar time.