We Need a KNUTH for Communicating and Archiving Data


Letters, We Get Letters...
is the title of the Editorial of Dr Dobb's Journal.  (september 1996)

It mentions four things.

First: Donald Knuth received a major prize in Japan. Among the many
contributions to the art of computing is the famous series: 'The Art of
Computer Programming' on computational algorithms, and TEX in an other one.
(And where is LaTex derived from?...)

Second: A company (E-Data) is sueing (or threatening) because it holds a
patent covering on-demand electronic distribution of ... everything.
Problems: If data isn't time stamped, authenticated, etc, etc how will they
prove things in court? And what to think of the notion : "Free Speech"?

Third: What about archives of tomorrow? What will be published or
researched in the future? The collected E-Mail of W. Shakespeare?
Will we have the same feelings about the E-Mail as the doodling's of John
Lennnon in the British Museum?

Fourth: A dean of libraries at the University of Kansas, who published a
summary of two conferences in May 9th edition.
Problem: the conferences were held May 13-21 !!
Small mistake. He used a draft written before.

What have all items in common (or not)?

A- Science: Knuth developed a detailed, thorough understanding of what he
was doing. He left almost nothing out. His works are first class. Nothing
he did can be improved much. His work will last for ever.

B- Business: Applications store bits and bytes. They don't store much
detail, they have no real understanding of archiving information. All
present business applications won't last. The data, which has been stored
using them, won't last.
Many data and applications can't survive the end of our milenium, many
can't survive because the medium used for storage wears out, the machines
won't stay around to read the media, the correct versions of the basic
drivers won't be around, the correct versions of the operating systems
won't be around, the correct versions of the applications won't be there to
read the information.
And if they can, the data isn't secure, time-stamped, authenticated enough
to be certain that they are not tampered with and we know for sure who the
author was.
All our collections of stored data won't last for ever.

Conclusion:
We live in the Stone Age of computing, still.
Scientific computing has been delt with by Knuth.
But the secure communicating and the secure archiving of information needs
a KNUTH.

ps: By the way: Knuth refuses to use E-mail. He prefers paperware!
One reason why he does?

Gerard Freriks,huisarts, MD
C. Sterrenburgstr 54
3151JG Hoek van Holland
the Netherlands  (31) 174-384296/ Fax: -386249

ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS




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