The Codeless Code: Case 39 The River of Tea
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Java master Suku was visiting the provinces of her youth.
She had just seated herself in a favorite teahouse when a
novice approached and asked her opinion of some code he had
written.
Suku examined the listing and found that every single method
had been meticulously documented. The setName method of
Person declared that it set the person’s name; the getName
method affirmed that it returned the name set by setName,
and the toString method vowed that, indeed, it would return
a String.
Suku pushed the listing away from herself and sat a while in
silence. Eventually the novice cleared his throat and asked
if she was displeased.
“That is an interesting question,” said Suku. She pointed at
the code. “This is paper, resting on a tatami mat. On the
paper is ink. The ink forms many words. There is a bird in
the hinoki outside. It has two feathered wings and two
eyes...”
She continued in this manner until the novice’s cheeks
turned red. He gathered his code and left her presence,
ashamed but enlightened. Suku did not stop talking until the
boy was out of earshot.
Qi’s commentary
Suku was served a generous portion of uncooked rice. The
novice is fortunate that she lacked a paddle to cook it
with.
