Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 38, No. 116.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2024-08-28 01:42:04+00:00
        From: scholar-at-large@bell.net <scholar-at-large@bell.net>
        Subject: In Praise of Documentation

Willard

Came across a passage in this sci-fi novel and it appears like a look ahead at
stranded assets such as projects that relied on propriety software...

[quote]
Without detailed documentation and technical design information there was no way
of tackling the problem. But no documentation was available. All the information
was locked away inside the same system that they needed the information to get
into; it was like having a can with the can opener inside it.

James P. Hogan
The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (1978)
[/quote]

I find the analogy of the can and can opener quite apt.

François


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