Hoff thinks it’s funny, I think it’s pathetic:
If this is coding, modern style, I pity those that will have to mainain that code in the future. Or is this a way to make yourself irreplacable, or pump up your income (if you get paid by the characters typed)…
If Java had a only a function like LIB$SIGNAL, life would be much easier. If this is humour, it’s just to know our life as VMS programmers is much, much easier.
This source code is occupational humor, akin to that of Dilbert. The humor value of Dilbert can be inversely proportional to the distance from the comic’s target; proximity can breed frustration. When further away in terms of time or distance or organization, Dilbert can (again) be hilarious. As can this source code. This class of code exists in many environments and various languages, either generated from IDEs or (worse) manually created. There are books that use this approach for teaching a language. And if you can’t laugh at something — such as Dilbert, or this source code — well, where does all that frustration go?
I see your point comparing with Dilbert: How stupid can the world get. Your title “Hello [Mad,Mad] world” tells it all.
That’s why I pity those that will have to maintain this code in the future. I don’t think that hilarious. It will be, if a younger coder will have to (because I won’t) and don’t understand what it is all about.
Where my frustration goes? In wrting code that is efficient and maintainable, because it’s clear and simple, and show that as an example how things can be done that way – without IDE.