Can any source be the design? ''Yes.''

Is assembly source the design? ''Yes.''

Is micro code the design? ''Yes.''

Or does TheSourceCodeIsTheDesign require a high-level language? ''No.''

And is it impossible to make TheSourceCodeIsTheDesign in some popular HLLs? ''No.''

''When we say The SourceCodeIsTheDesign, we mean that the source code is like a blueprint telling the computer how to construct the "program". Thus, it can be anything that you write that tells the computer what to do. In the case of assembly and microcode, the design is very difficult for an inexperienced person to understand, but then, so are a lot of mechanical or electrical designs.''
----
Can any source ever be the design? No. Heck, no! No way, man!!

Design is the application of available technology to solve a system's architecture. Design calls for services to be implemented in hardware, software, or the invocation of other services. This has '''absolutely nothing''' to do with source code.

Source code is how a ''particular'' implementation of a design is carried out. A design ''can'' be implemented in any number of ways; this source code is just how this particular implementation does it.

Is the design dependent on the source code? Don't be silly. Is the source code a result of the design? Okay, now you're on to something. Ask the right questions and you start getting answers that make sense.
----
Slashdot discussion on a similarly-named topic:

http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/01/2112257
----
CategoryDiscussion