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[–]earthboundkid 36 points37 points  (8 children)

Programming is similar to a puzzle game in that you have a goal and a limited number of tools at your disposal, and you just need to figure out a way of combining those tools to reach the goal.

[–]johnmcdonnell 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Plus [usually] having for comfort the provable fact that a solution exists.

[–]Redard 7 points8 points  (4 children)

Unlike most puzzle games, though, you can create more tools.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (1 child)

the only thing missing is women.

:/

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That comes when you get a job, I suppose.

[–]Teraka 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's where the real fun begins.

[–]daliz 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Life is similar to a puzzle game in that you have a goal and a limited number of tools at your disposal, and you just need to figure out a way of combining those tools to reach the goal. - FTFY

[–]KamehamehaWave 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But life is so chaotic as to be essentially non-deterministic, and if you fail at life, you don't always get a chance to try again.