zoogeny 7 days ago

I'm not sure what you mean? The literal quote from the Wikipedia article on "worse is better" is:

> It refers to the argument that software quality does not necessarily increase with functionality: that there is a point where less functionality ("worse") is a preferable option ("better") in terms of practicality and usability.

For that reason, I think I am applying the term precisely as it was defined.

The irony of my comment, which dang picked up, is that the original idea was a criticism against Lisp, suggesting that the bloat of features was a part of the reason its adoption had lagged behind languages like C.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worse_is_better

2
90s_dev 7 days ago

You're both saying the same thing: fewer features = higher quality.

Swiss army knives are not as good at being screwdrivers as screwdrivers are.

quinnirill 6 days ago

In general: yes. But I’ve certainly had to use swathes of screwdrivers that are worse at being screwdrivers than my Swiss army knife is. Same I believe applies here: there’s a relation, but it’s nuanced. The same screwdriver is a better screwdriver when carried in a hand than in a toolbox full of other high-quality tools, but worse for everything else.

throwawaymaths 6 days ago

huh. til i actually thought "worse is better" is more recent than that but it stems from an era where feature count was the measure of quality. how times have changed!! thanks!