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Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2014 23:48:14 +1100
Subject: Re: Blog "about python 3"
From: Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
Cc: "python-list@python.org" <python-list@python.org>
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:63187

On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 11:28 PM, Steven D'Aprano
<steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> wrote:
> - "The Unix 'locate' command doesn't do a live search of the file
>   system because that would be too slow, it uses a snapshot of the
>   state of the file system."
>
>
> Is locate buggy because it tells you what files existed the last time the
> updatedb command ran, instead of what files exist right now? No, of course
> not. locate does exactly what it promises to do.

Even more strongly: We say colloquially that Google, DuckDuckGo, etc,
etc, are tools for "searching the web". But they're not. They're tools
for *indexing* the World Wide Web, and then searching that index. It's
plausible to actually search your file system (and there are times
when you want that), but completely implausible to search the (F or
otherwise) web. We accept the delayed appearance of a page in the
search results because we want immediate results, no waiting a month
to find anything! So the difference between what's technically
promised and what's colloquially described may be more than just
concealing bugs - it may be the vital difference between uselessness
and usefulness. And yet we like the handwave.

ChrisA