Hi again,
On 11/4/2011 11:46 AM, I wrote:
On 11/3/2011 2:19 AM, Hank Ratzesberger wrote:
Anecdotal to list, apologies, but for me... I was told yesterday by
my previous employer that he can't find anyone to maintain and XML
application and today by my current employer that XML is not seen as
the solution it was thought to be several years ago.
...
As for the current employer, this is a howling non sequitur. I agree
that XML is not the solution it was thought to be several years ago.
(Nor was it ever thought to be, by many of us.) But to go from this to
"we're not going to do it" is like saying that because we have not yet
cured cancer, medical science is useless.
Another thing occurred to me. As Hank tells it, his current employer
doesn't approve of XML not because it isn't a solution XYZ, but because
it is not *seen* as a solution XYZ. Assuming this is actually what he
said, I think this is revealing.
Charitably, one might suppose that this argument is made in view of
meta-strategic considerations such as how hard it is to find expert
developers given the dominant perceptions in the marketplace. (Yet he
has an expert standing right in front of him to whom he is telling this.)
Uncharitably, one might suppose that he is not interested in whether the
technology is effective at solving problems, but in how it is perceived.
Maybe he's more concerned with being able to drop the currently sexy
buzzwords at board meetings than he is with whether it actually works --
and taking on the burden of knowing enough about it that he can convince
the board.
Technology is complicated, confusing and mysterious. But life is filled
with mysteries. Ultimately it comes down to what you want to take
responsibility for.
Cheers,
Wendell
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Wendell Piez
mailto:wapiez(_at_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com
Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com
17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635
Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631
Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285
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Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML
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