2009-07-17

astroaztec: (Default)
2009-07-17 02:14 pm

conjure nothing

Last night I found that the Australians had re-inserted comments into one configuration file. I had removed them last month after I found that their Linux API chokes and dies if it encounters comments preceding the code. They had acknowledged the difficulty and said they would omit comments. I didn't get to proceed with the development cycle of my code.

They responded today asking why I was using those particular methods of their API. I pointed out they had suggested that method. I recalled the history of correspondence about instances where their API has not provided consistent results and does not have any means of signaling failures. They responded with a piece of code that I never would have expected.

Their solution is to connect to their server and then subscribe to an empty event list -- to subscribe to nothing.

The entire exchange is something I've read before, in one of the Technomage novels that filled in details which were omitted during the production of the Babylon 5 series.

Google has the page with that conversation.

Conjure nothing, for in so doing we get access to everything.