Careful as they may be, developers of Eiffel libraries will always run into cases in which, after releasing a library class, they suddenly experience what in French is called esprit de l'escalier or wit of the staircase: a great thought which unfortunately is an afterthought, like a clever reply that would have stunned all the other dinner guests - if only you had thought of it before walking down the stairs after the party is over.
Interpretation
It's common to have brilliant ideas after the moment has passed, often reflecting on what could have been said or done.
This quote highlights the phenomenon of 'esprit de l'escalier', which refers to the clever thoughts or responses that come to mind only after a situation has ended. It's a reminder that in life, particularly in creative and intellectual fields like software development, the ideal solutions or witty retorts often occur too late, prompting reflection on how we can better prepare for future interactions or challenges.
In practice
During a team meeting, you might bring up this quote to emphasize the importance of capturing ideas in the moment.
Writing a class without its contract would be similar to producing an engineering component (electrical circuit, VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) chip, bridge, engine...) without a spec. No professional engineer would even consider the idea.
Perfect reusable components are not obtained at the first shot.
There are only two things wrong with C++: The initial concept and the implementation.
Incorrect documentation is often worse than no documentation.
You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time.
He has great tranquillity of heart who cares neither for the praises nor the fault-finding of men. He will easily be content and pacified, whose conscience is pure. You are not holier if you are praised, nor the more worthless if you are found fault with. What you are, that you are; neither by word can you be made greater than what you are in the sight of God.
We weren't allowing our hopes to become expectations. Expectations are tempting, pleasant, maybe necessary. They are scary too, once you have had some experience. They are not necessarily and not always a bucket of smoke, but they can be and are even likely to be.
Purity is when there is no anxiety, no worry, no thinking.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.
Do not be jealous of others' good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself.
It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.
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