IP: may be of interest to Bay Area IP folks --

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

        Computer Systems Laboratory Colloquium
          4:15PM, Wednesday, November 29, 2000
      NEC Auditorium, Gates Computer Science Building B03

Title:      The missing link in software pattern theory.
            Generative sequences as the next breakthrough in programming.

Speaker:    Christopher Alexander
            Patternlanguage.com

About the talk:

Professor Alexander will address the road he has followed in the
last years that have taken him from patterns to sequences. A
generative sequences is a semi-algorithm, a flexible system of
instructions which lay out for the user which decisions need to
be made in which order. Decision A becomes the context for
Decision B and when the sequence is a good one, the morphology of
the resulting design unfolds naturally, reaching a coherent
though highly complex and subtle structure. No backtracking is
necessary. In mainstream architectural practices, thee are
requirements for plans and blueprints which force premature
decisions which then become contractually binding and costly to
correct. Generative sequences allow for a more organic unfolding,
much as an embryo unfolds, each stage preserving essential
characteristics of the previous stage, and each stage having
"wholeness" in and of itself.

The discussion will also address the issue of protected programs
or sequences and open/shared programs and the ethics of websites
such as c2.com.

If you are planning to attend the session, you may wish to take a
look at the website http://www.patternlanguage.com. In
particular, there is a demo and worked example of a short
sequence which takes you through the decision steps in designing
an entrance transition. For the enthusiastic (or sleepless) you
can spend hours on the material posted--and all feedback is
welcome.

About the speaker:

Following a dual career as a professor at the Univeristy of
California, Berkeley and as a practicing architect, Christopher
Alexander is now taking his ideas and activities "on-line"
through a new website patternlanguage.com. He is most well
known among computer scientists for the book A Pattern Language
published in the late 70's. His new work The Nature of Order is
now at the printer and will soon be available.

Contact information:

Christopher Alexander
ca () patternlanguage com



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