Re: [avr-gcc-list] How to handle paths with spaces?

[Erik Christiansen]

On 17.07.14 09:08, Bob Paddock wrote:

> >> Sadly sometimes IT mandates where things go on a system without regard
> >> to the pain they cause.
> >
> > In 30 years, I never let IT near our development machines.
> 
> Alas some companies do not understand what they actually do at the
> management level, and IT controls the company. Resume anyone?

The problem arises when one submits to personnel who merely seek to
expand their empire at your expense. Make it clear that they are not
competent to develop embedded software, and so not competent to decide
how it should be done. If impeded by inferior infrastructure, blow it
away¹ on development machines, install what you need, and produce
results. Managers live or die on doers, because they produce nothing
themselves. Perform, and they will support you, even if nervously at
times - but manage their expectations.

My teams developed embedded systems which formed the backbone of
Australia's first digital telephone network. On one design, a 565 Mb/s
telephone trunk system to be installed Melbourne-Sydney, liquidated
damages were set at over A$100,000 per day (in today's dollars) for late
delivery. (You couldn't take that risk with ms-windows) More recently,
it was PABXs - all with linux and FOSS toolchains.

I only ever considered the AVR because it was supported by gcc.

> >We had a
> > firewall between us and the unwashed, ran solaris (later linux),
> 
> "Linux is nothing but a toy." - Head of IT here. Really resume anyone?

Oh dear, why are the most ignorant so often so sure of themselves?
OK, this quote on linux is only from Wikipedia:

It has since been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any
other operating system.[citation needed] It is a leading operating
system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers
and supercomputers.[18][19][20] As of June 2013, more than 95% of the
world's 500 fastest supercomputers run some variant of Linux,[21]
including all the 44 fastest.

At http://www.top500.org/statistics/list/ , selecting OS statistics
gives 30 as non-linux, of which 2 are windows, as of this month. I.e.
linux has 94%, and windows has 0.4% of cutting edge High Performance
Computing, used for core national security purposes such as war scenario
modelling, virtual nuclear testing, and seriously complex weather
modelling. The "glorified word processor" OS clearly does not make the
grade.

Has your IT figurehead ever thought about what powers Google, and most
of the internet? Here in Australia, the locked-down secure OS allowed
for use by prisoners in our jails is a linux distribution. There is
linux on some satellites. I don't think anyone has seriously considered
risking a space mission on the office-machine offering.

Anyone taking the word of a manager primarily responsible for
office-machines/word-processors, on the topic of professional software
development, has only themselves to blame for the sub-optimal decisions
which result from such ignorance.

Erik

¹ OK, go dual boot, initially. (Though I never did)

-- 
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are
always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
                                                   - Bertrand Russell