Quote o' the Day: Age and Syntax Directed Editing

Laurence Tratt, writing An Editor for Composed Programs, came up with this interesting factoid regarding syntax-directed editing, a bizarre remnant of something horrible that the ’80s have to answer for:

I ended by wondering if SDE (Syntax Directed Editing) might be the solution. What I’ve discovered is that SDE is a wonderful way of guessing someone’s age: those under 40 or so have rarely heard of SDE; and those above 45 [2] tend to either convulse in fits of laughter when it’s mentioned, become very afraid, or assume I’m an idiot. In other words, those who know of SDE have a strong reaction to it (which, almost invariably, is against SDE).

[2] I’m not sure if my sample size of 40-45 year olds is insufficient, or whether they really are the “inbetween” generation when it comes to SDE. Fortunately, I will sleep soundly enough without knowing the answer to this particular question.

His statement is entirely true. I note that I am older than 45.