When Deon is working on the AI, he mentions he has terabytes of compiling and coding to do. I've heard of code measured in lines of code, and I can guess the result of compiling could be terabytes of executable instructions, but what he says doesn't make sense. Is this an error in the dialog or some British/Indian/South African way of expressing it?
www.freerice.com
Hello, jmhow.
You are the first I've heard to mention this one. . . One of the few things in the film that left me head-scratching. I honestly don't know anything about programming advanced learning algorithms, but I believe it's a simple mistake.
How long is a line of Code?
How many lines is a lot?
How long does it take a professional coder to write hundreds of lines?
What is compiling?
How big is a compiled script?
How long does it take?
What is an executable instruction?
The majority of viewers will not even know what half those answers are.
However, they generally know how big a gigabyte and a terabyte are.
My guess is that TB is simply an easier form of reference for a general audience.
That, or Deon is using a touch of hyperbole.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche
terabytes = terabytes of code/executable instructions
Also, this is jargon, so it won't be affected by different dialects of English.
'Lines of code' seems archaic. It speaks of punch cards being read by refrigerator-size machines. Lines are written so others can make sense of the flow of the program.
As long as the instructions are separated appropriately, the lines can be run-on indefinitely, rendering 'lines of code' meaningless.
Since the project is solely Deon's, and the work has been in progress for some time, he knows each compilation is worth terabytes.
The movie didn't show how painstakingly long it takes to compile a complex AI program. It cheated us by implying he succeeded in 12 hours of compiling his trial-and-error attempts. If he did this over his weekend, that's more acceptable.
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Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum Goldilocks