optimism

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for optimism - Next: Orange Book, Prev: optical grep
:optimism: /n./ What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and before discovering the next last bug. Fred Brookss book "The Mythical Man-Month" (See "Brookss Law") contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well: All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time it will surely run," or "I just found the last bug.". See also [[Lubarskys Law of Cybernetic Entomology]].
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996 - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)