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| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, April 23 2012 @ 04:16 AM EDT |
There are 12V batteries, 6V batteries, 24V batteries. While most electrical
systems have - on ground, there are some, mostly historical, with + on ground.
This is important for the order of making connections: the usual way is to
_first_ connect the ungrounded polarity, _then_ connect the grounded polarity,
and unconnect in the reverse order.
Of course this seems completely arbitrary. Until you witness the day where
someone does it the other way round, and while screwing on the ungrounded
connector with a spanner accidentally brushes against some metal already wired
to the other connector of the battery.
With a good truck battery, this can be decidedly unfunny.
So the API should not be underestimated.
My SO has a 20+ year old Mercedes. The parts under the hood are readily
accessible and labelled and _obvious_. You don't need instructions to change
any parts (I've seen things like having to remove some cover from inside of the
wheel case in order to exchange a bulb from the direction indicator).
Like the driving controls themselves, it all makes perfect sense. It is a car
constructed _for_ servicing, not _against_ it. If a bulb blows, a warning light
is shown in the cockpit (how many cars drive around half blind?). And you can
exchange any bulb without tools, by unclipping and unconnecting obvious and/or
labelled handles.
People with a brain and a clue and experience have been creating this, and you
can follow it without even needing to refer to documentation, copyrighted or
not.
Which is like an API should be designed. And Oracle tries to base their
protection on the repair manuals as _the_ most important part of acquiring a car
business.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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